Donald Trump has sought to distance himself from the Iran war amid spiking oil prices, sagging poll numbers, and global pushback from U.S allies.
After days of alternating between saying the war is ending soon and threatening to escalate it, Trump gave a prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday night in a bid to reassure increasingly skeptical voters about his mission.
But in a rambling address filled with falsehoods, Trump, 79, essentially washed his hands of the mess he created in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.
“We’ve beaten and completely decimated Iran. They are decimated, both militarily and economically and every other way, and the countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage - they must cherish it,” he said.
“We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on. So to those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran... I have a suggestion.
“Number one: buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage... The hard part is done so it should be easy, and in any event, when this conflict is over, the Strait will open up naturally.”
The address was the first since Trump joined Israel to strike Iran on February 28. It lasted for 18 minutes and 39 seconds.
Since then, at least 13 American servicemen have died, the world has faced a global energy crisis due to a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, and average U.S fuel prices have soared beyond $4 a gallon.
Polls also show a consistent majority of Americans (roughly 60 percent) disapprove of President Trump’s military action against Iran, with his personal approval rating dipping to around 36 to 40 percent.
However, Trump insisted the U.S was fulfilling its objectives: wiping out the Iranian Navy and Air Force, and diminishing Iran’s missile capabilities. Notably, however, he said little about seizing Iran’s enriched uranium, when one of the initial objectives was to stop the regime from making a nuclear bomb.
Instead, he simply said: “the nuclear sites that we obliterated with the B2 bombers have been hit so hard that it would take months to get near the nuclear dust.” This suggests Trump no longer cares about getting Iran’s near-bomb-grade nuclear material because it is under rubble.
The speech had no new announcements and will almost certainly disappoint Republicans hoping Trump would announce an end to America’s intervention, particularly as the midterm elections loom.
Earlier in the day, Trump foreshadowed his speech by telling supporters, “I’m going to tell everybody how great I am. What a great job, what a phenomenal job I’ve done.”
His address came as thousands of additional Marines made their way to the region. Yet on Monday morning, the president claimed on social media that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn’t clear to whom the president was referring since Iran has had the same president since 2024.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
The president’s post followed a now familiar pattern of making assuring claims just before the markets opened in a bid to assuage market jitters over the growing energy crisis sparked by the Middle East conflict.
On Monday, for instance—again before the markets opened—he claimed U.S. was in “serious discussions” with a “new and more reasonable regime to end our military operations in Iran.”
But the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote on X: “Heads-up: Pre-market so-called “news” or “Truth” is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator.”
Meanwhile, the conflict—and the mixed messaging around it—has rattled some of Trump’s top MAGA allies.
Among them is Erik Prince, a Republican mega donor, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and founder of the private security firm Blackwater, who counseled the administration “as loud as I could” to not get involved.
“I don’t share the optimism of the administration that there’s going to be a peaceful stop to this,” said Prince, who is viewed in MAGA circles as “the pre-eminent thinker” on the military.
“They will burn it down. And my real concern is that if they try to put boots on the ground and force the Strait of Hormuz, you will see imagery of burning American warships in the next couple of weeks. And I don’t think people are really prepared for that.”
