‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation,’ says Trump amid Iran talks | US news
Donald Trump said the increasing financial pressure the war on Iran is putting on Americans does not motivate him “one bit” to make a peace deal with Tehran.
With US inflation at a three-year high and fuel costs still climbing after a sharp rise in oil prices, the US president said on Tuesday he was not focusing on the economic hardship caused by the conflict.
“The only thing that matters when we talk about Iran is [is] Trump told reporters at the White House before boarding a plane to China: “I’m not thinking about the finances of Americans. I’m not thinking about anyone. I’m thinking about one thing: We can’t let Iran have nuclear weapons. That’s all.”
The remarks come ahead of the US midterm election campaign season, which looks set to be defined by growing concerns about affordability.
Trump was also speaking just hours after official figures emerged that US prices rose 3.8 per cent in April – the fastest increase since 2023.
gas now average over $4.50 per gallonThis was the highest price in four years, according to AAA. Food prices have also increased by nearly 4 percent, electric and power bills have increased, and airlines have raised fares by more than 20 percent.
Trump’s top officials have struggled for months to explain when or whether such pressures would ease. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in March that fuel prices could return to pre-war levels by the summer, but said Sunday he “cannot make predictions.” He told CNN in April that prices falling below $3 per gallon “may not happen until next year.”
Asked recently for a prediction, Trump himself said prices could be lower, “or the same, or maybe a little bit higher” by November.
Trump’s chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, told Fox News on Sunday that relief would come “relatively quickly and certainly before the election.” He also claimed that the president personally assured him that “the war is about to end.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a different approach last week, suggesting that Americans should consider themselves lucky because other countries are experiencing “great difficulties.”
The economic strain of the war was felt around the world: inflation is also accelerating in Australia, Canada and South Korea; British households have been warned of a new cost of living crisis; and Asian manufacturers are already passing higher costs down the supply chain.
Rubio claimed that the United States, as a net oil exporter, is “very lucky” and “somewhat insulated” from the worst.
On Tuesday, Trump reached the same comparison. He said that before the war, inflation was at 1.7 percent. He predicted that a solution to the war would bring “a huge drop in oil prices” and noted that the worst predictions – $300 a barrel, a 25% or more stock market crash – did not come true. “A lot of people were anticipating this,” he said. “Well, it didn’t happen.”
University of Michigan April survey It found that consumer confidence has fallen to levels seen in 2022, when inflation rises to its highest level in a generation due to the disruption caused by Covid-19.
Trump’s recent public comments have included boasts about the stock market, dismissals of inflation concerns and, at least once, updates on the rising cost of a new ballroom at the White House. He emphasized Tuesday that his economic policies are working “incredibly” and that Americans will see the rewards when the war is over.
“When this war is over, oil will go down, the stock market will go through the roof, and I really think we’re in the golden age right now,” Trump said. “You will see a golden age like the one we have seen before.”
