Trump refuses – President Donald Trump defended remarks saying he was not factoring Americans’ financial situation into efforts to negotiate an end to the Iran war, while acknowledging “short-term pain,” including higher gas prices, tied to the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
President Donald Trump defended his own words on Friday after they triggered a new round of Democratic criticism, arguing he never meant to weigh Americans’ finances while pushing for negotiations over Iran.
In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Trump said of the earlier remarks: “That’s a perfect statement. I’d make it again.” The president was shown a clip of what he told reporters Tuesday. when he said he wasn’t thinking about Americans’ financial situation “even a little bit” as he negotiates an end to the monthslong conflict.
When Trump spoke to reporters Tuesday, his focus was blunt and singular: preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.. “The only thing that matters, when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody.. I think about one thing: You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
That framing set off a political fight almost immediately.. The comments drew widespread criticism from Democrats, while many Republicans moved quickly to defend him.. Even as the dispute played out in Washington. Trump also addressed the price Americans are paying during the period of heightened tensions.
During the Fox interview. taped in China during Trump’s visit. the president said there will be “short-term pain” tied to negotiations and to a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. one of the world’s busiest waterways for oil tankers.. He said the blockade of the strait has helped push up global energy prices.
Trump, in turn, signaled he was prepared to accept higher costs for the sake of the Iran effort. “Don’t forget, they have a lot of boats that are loaded up with oil that are going to bring the oil out as soon as this is over, and I think it’s going to end fast,” Trump said.
Gas prices, he acknowledged, are rising during the standoff.. Trump told Baier he was “OK” with higher gas prices if it helped the U.S.. achieve its goals in the Iran conflict, saying Americans would eventually accept the tradeoff.. “When you tell somebody you’re going to pay a little more for gasoline for a very short period of time — because we want to stop the threat of being blown to pieces by a lunatic. by a crazy person using nuclear weapons — everybody says that’s fine. ” Trump said.
In a swipe at the question that prompted his Tuesday response, Trump called it “a fake question.” He also suggested the pressure at the pump will ease once the blockade is resolved.
The political sensitivity is rising alongside those costs.. The article notes that gas prices have gone up 50% since the U.S.. and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February. with the national average climbing to more than $4.50 a gallon. according to data from the American Automobile Association.
With gas prices moving upward and Trump’s approval sinking, Republicans are also weighing the election calendar. They are heading into the November midterm elections defending slim majorities in each chamber, and the Iran conflict is already shaping their message.
Still, Trump said he is not adjusting his Iran strategy for electoral reasons. “I’m not going to let the election determine what’s going to happen with respect to Iran, because they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Donald Trump Iran talks Strait of Hormuz gas prices midterm elections nuclear weapon Bret Baier Fox News American Automobile Association