Trump: 'I Don't Think About Americans' Financial Situation'
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- Trump told reporters Tuesday he "doesn't think about Americans' financial situation," saying his sole motivation is preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, as a 10-week U.S.-Israeli conflict with Tehran continues.
- The comments landed the same day the U.S. Labor Department reported consumer inflation rose 3.8% year-over-year in April — its largest annual gain in three years — with gasoline prices up 5.4% and non-gas prices climbing 0.6%.
- The producer price index then jumped 6% year-over-year in Wednesday's release, the biggest monthly gain since March 2022, with core producer prices up 5.2% from April 2025.
- Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes has choked oil, LNG, and fertilizer transit, pushing the national average gas price to $4.50/gal — roughly 44% above a year ago, with one analyst projecting $5/gal by June if the strait stays closed.
- Democrats launched a new ad pairing Trump's remarks with a prior White House speech in which he suggested federal funding for child care, Medicare, and Medicaid was "untenable," previewing what the party called its midterm message until the Nov. 3 vote.
- Trump proposed Monday to pause the federal gas tax to ease consumer pain, a move White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett framed as addressing a "temporary energy shock" — but the suspension would require congressional approval.
Why it matters: Democrats now have a verbatim presidential quote — "I don't think about Americans' financial situation" — to deploy against the party in control, arriving on the same day CPI posted its biggest annual gain in three years and gas prices sat 44% above the prior year, exactly the pocketbook issue Trump used to hammer Biden in 2024.
