Trump says – At a Cabinet meeting on May 27, President Donald Trump said Iran wrongly expected him to back away from U.S. demands, insisting he will either secure a deal or “finish the job” militarily if negotiations fail. His remarks came as gas prices remain sensitive to
President Donald Trump walked into a Cabinet meeting on May 27 with a message that landed like a warning: Iran expected him to retreat, but he said he won’t.
“Trump said on Wednesday that Iran wrongly assumed he would retreat from his demands during negotiations to avoid a long standoff ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.” Speaking at the session, Trump argued the Iranian regime believed it could simply outlast him.
“‘We’ll outwait him. He’s got the midterms,’” Trump said, adding, “‘I don’t care about the midterms. Look what happened last night. That was the prelude to the midterms.’” He tied the politics to events at home. pointing to Republican victories in primaries he endorsed. A centerpiece was Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lopsided defeat of incumbent Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate primary.
The political confidence was striking. especially as the war in Iran continues and the domestic cost of conflict remains in the background. With gas prices still a live wire. there is risk that higher prices tied to the fighting could become a central midterm issue in November. Republicans face an uphill fight to retain their slim majority in the House. while Democrats increasingly believe they have a path to take control of the Senate.
Trump made the economic stakes personal, too—just not in the way voters might expect. He said Americans understand his rationale for the war. “People understand it. They know that it’s very simple: Iran can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Even as his argument focused on nuclear capability. the numbers that Americans see at the pump were less dramatic than the politics—but they were still moving in the wrong direction for some. The average price of a gallon of regular gas in the United States dropped slightly on May 27 to $4.59. according to AAA. That figure was up nearly 35 cents from last month and $1.29 from last year. The comparison point matters: average gas prices were $2.98 nationally on Feb. 26, two days before the United States launched its first airstrikes against Iran.
At the same Cabinet meeting, Trump backed away from optimism. After suggesting over the Memorial Day weekend that he was close to securing a deal with Iran, he warned that the U.S. would escalate if the Iranians don’t accept U.S. terms.
He said, “finish the job” if Iran doesn’t agree to a deal, echoing threats he has made before. “Iran is very much intent,” Trump said at the Cabinet meeting, his 12th of his second term. “They want very much to make a deal. So far, they haven’t gotten there. We’re not satisfied with it, but we will be. Either that or we’ll have to just finish the job.”.
Trump also pointed to U.S. military momentum earlier in the war—successes he said had wiped out Iran’s navy and air force. “Everything’s gone, and they’re negotiating on fumes,” Trump said, adding, “But we’ll see what happens. Maybe we’ll have to go back and finish it. Maybe we don’t.”
That language carries a particular tension because it follows a weekend signal of progress. On Saturday. May 23. Trump said a deal to end the war had been “largely negotiated.” In that framing. the parameters involved reopening the Strait of Hormuz while extending the U.S.-Iran ceasefire for 60 days. while the two sides discussed the mechanism for Iran to turn over its highly enriched uranium used for nuclear weapons.
But the framework has not hardened into agreement, and tensions have surged again. The Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to retaliate on May 26 after U.S. Central Command said it conducted defensive strikes on missile launch sites and boats in southern Iran attempting to lay mines.
When asked about a timeline to secure a deal. Trump said “we’ve been doing this a few months.” He compared the current standoff to past U.S. wars in Vietnam, Korea and Afghanistan—conflicts that lasted many years. Trump added that those wars killed many more Americans than the 13 who have died from the war in Iran.
“I think they are starting to give us the things that they have to give us. ” Trump said about the talks with Iran. Then he delivered a line that mixed diplomacy with consequence: “And if they do. that’s great. and if they won’t. then the man on my left is going to finish them off. ” signaling to his defense secretary. Pete Hegseth.
The sequence is difficult to miss: a deal framework floated on May 23, a defensive strike and a Revolutionary Guard threat on May 26, and then on May 27 a president insisting the negotiations won’t determine whether the U.S. stops—only whether it stops on a negotiated path or after further force.
Trump Iran war talks Abraham Accords gas prices AAA midterms 2026 Strait of Hormuz U.S.-Iran ceasefire highly enriched uranium Revolutionary Guard Corps U.S. Central Command Pete Hegseth Ken Paxton John Cornyn
Gas prices always go up when he talks tough.
So he’s saying “finish the job” like it’s nothing… but then he also says people understand? I don’t. And how is this not just gonna make things worse for midterms??
Wait, Ken Paxton beat Cornyn in Texas and that’s supposed to mean Iran negotiations go better?? That seems kinda unrelated but okay. Also wasn’t Cornyn like untouchable lol.
“I don’t care about the midterms” but then he literally uses the midterms as proof he’s right. And the part about Iran outlasting him like?? He always says voters get it, but voters just see higher gas and more scary headlines. If they start a deal, great, but if not… “finish the job” is such a weird threat to tie to politics.