Trump downplayed the financial impact of the war in Iran, justifying U.S. military operations there as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
Credit: Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump said rising gas prices tied to the war in Iran are far less important than preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon
- “This is peanuts,” Trump said of prices at the pump on Tuesday, May 19
- The president’s remarks are consistent with earlier comments downplaying the war’s impact on consumers
President Donald Trump downplayed still-rising gas prices amid the war in Iran, telling reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, May 19, that Americans’ financial woes pale in comparison to the possibility of Iran expanding its nuclear program.
“We have to do something with Iran. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” the president said Tuesday, speaking in front of a construction site for his White House ballroom project. “You want to see the world exploded? You want to see a problem? This is peanuts.”
“I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while,” he added. “It won’t be much longer.”
Global gas prices have soared since the start of the war in February, increasing by more than 50% in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. Trump has proposed a temporary suspension of the gas tax to help offset consumer strain.
The president’s comments on Tuesday are consistent with earlier remarks about his administration’s approach to the war. Asked ahead of a scheduled visit to China last week whether rising costs tied to the conflict have affected his thinking, Trump responded: “Not even a little bit.”
“I don't think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” he said, adding that preventing Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon is “the only thing that matters.”
Credit: Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty
Trump has leaned on the threat of nuclear warfare to justify U.S. military operations in Iran — and vilify those who oppose them — since fighting between the countries began on Feb. 28.
Criticizing Europe’s response to the war, Trump wrote on Truth Social in April that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon” and made identical claims about the Italian and Spanish governments earlier this month.
During a widely publicized feud with Pope Leo XIV in April over the leader of the Catholic Church’s opposition to the war, Trump wrote on social media: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
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The president has long voiced his concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, though he also withdrew the U.S. from an arms control agreement with the country during his first term. The Iran nuclear deal, a 2015 accord reached under President Barack Obama, had placed limitations on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
Trump had criticized the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), for not going far enough to quash Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” he said while pulling out of the agreement in 2018. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
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