President Donald Trump has infuriated some members of his base by admitting that he wasn’t motivated “even a little bit” by Americans’ financial concerns when negotiating an end to his war with Iran.
A reporter asked Trump on Tuesday outside the White House, “To what extent are Americans’ financial situations motivating you to make a deal?”
The president replied, “Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations. I don’t think about anybody.”
A video of the remarks circulating on X.com prompted several MAGA influencers to quickly denounce the president.
Auron MacIntyre, a columnist for conservative website The Blaze, wrote in a post that Trump “obviously has to say this” because Iran’s greatest weapon is its leverage over the U.S. economy.
“That said, this plays terribly to Americans who are already facing financial struggles that Trump promised to alleviate,” he continued.
Others said they regretted supporting Trump.
“This is not the same man I voted for. I honestly can’t even recognize him anymore,” wrote Eric Spracklen, who has more than 280,000 followers. “An absolutely disgusting betrayal. MAGA boomers please wake up, PRESIDENT TRUMP DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.”
The war has sent energy prices soaring, with the average price of gasoline across the U.S. now passing $4.50 per gallon, and drove up inflation in April to 3.8 percent compared to a year ago.
Polling this week from CNN showed that 77 percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, blame Trump’s policies for the cost-of-living increases, in what is shaping up to be a political nightmare for the GOP.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung previously defended Trump’s remarks.
“The President’s ultimate responsibility is the safety and security of Americans. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and if action wasn’t taken, they’d have one, which threatens all Americans,” he said.
Trump also insisted to reporters on Tuesday that, “Every American understands… that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”
Before the war, U.S. intelligence assessments found that Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon, and that if it were, it would have taken the regime at least a decade to develop one.
Far-right influencer Myron Gaines, who has more than 431,000 followers, responded to Trump’s comments with an X.com post saying, “Are we surprised? He is STILL trying to sell the nuclear bomb hoax to justify domestic support for a war that does NOT serve Americans.”
Trisha Hope, a self-described J6 activist with more than 50,000 followers on X, wrote in a post, “Nothing About this is ok!!!”
Other posts, meanwhile, were short but scathing.
“I believe him,” wrote MAGA account Murray, which has 309,000 followers.
“Lovely,” replied Cassandra MacDonald, a writer and editor for the far-right conspiracy site The Gateway Pundit.
