As oil prices breach $100 a barrel and household budgets buckle under the weight of an eleven-week war, Donald Trump made clear the economic pain felt by ordinary Americans plays no role in his strategic calculations. Pausing on the White House lawn before departing for Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping, Trump told reporters that Americans’ financial hardship is “not even a little bit” motivating his approach to the war with Iran.
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“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody,” he said. “I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
The remarks arrive at a precarious moment for American households. Inflation jumped in April to the highest level in nearly three years, with the consumer price index rising 3.8% from a year earlier, driven largely by surging energy costs tied to the conflict in the Middle East. Gasoline is now averaging $4.50 a gallon nationally, with oil trading above $100 a barrel. Real average hourly wages fell 0.5% for the month — meaning, for the first time in three years, inflation is outpacing worker pay.
“This is hurting Americans. There is a real financial squeeze underway,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “This is a setback for middle-class and lower-income households, and they know it.”
Consumer sentiment hit an all-time low in April, with the University of Michigan’s final reading coming in at 49.8 — the lowest in the survey’s 74-year history. A new CNN poll finds 76% of Americans now name the cost of living as their biggest financial problem, with the share citing gas prices specifically rising from 5% a year ago to 23% today.
U.S. employers cut more than 83,000 jobs in April. A recent poll shows 55% of Americans say their financial situation is getting worse — the highest level in 25 years. Economists warn that even if the conflict were resolved soon, it could take six to nine months for supply chains and prices to return to pre-war levels.
