Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House on Wednesday, repeating many of his claimed successes in the war against Iran while urging everyday Americans facing rising costs of living to “keep this conflict in perspective.”
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” said Trump, calling the mounting costs a “short term increase” and blaming the Iranian regime’s “deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighbouring countries.” Trump has reportedly spent $25 billion on his Iran war and wants $200 billion more.
During his address, the president compared the Iran war to durations of the United States’ involvement in past conflicts, including World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. While Trump said that the Iran war had only entered its second month, the president once again did not offer Americans any clear timeline of when it would end while also stating the U.S. would escalate attacks.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” the president declared during the 19-minute address. “If there’s no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and properly simultaneously.”
Trump: Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. You all know that we built the strongest economy in history, we’re going through it right now pic.twitter.com/rvy4D5Ga3K
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Earlier in the day, the president admitted that the federal government was prioritising military spending and that it was “not possible” for it to take care of Americans’ basic needs such as daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, and all these “little scams.” Following his address and vow to continue the attacks on Iran, the price of oil spiked and stocks sank, according to The New York Times.
Trump and his administration have delivered a bewildering array of contradictory explanations for the war since the U.S. and Israel launched a military campaign, dubbed Operation Epic Fury, against Iran a month ago. It remains unclear what exactly the administration wishes to achieve as it spends tens of billions to bombard the Middle Eastern nation in a war that Trump has repeatedly claimed is already won. Trump has threatened more destruction before backing off, citing ongoing negotiations in which Iran is “begging” to make a deal. Meanwhile, the president has reportedly grown “bored” with the effort, and that he “wants to move on.”
The latest flip-flop came hours before Trump’s address on Wednesday, when he wrote on Truth Social that Iran wants a ceasefire but that he won’t agree to it until they agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the closure of which has led oil prices to skyrocket. Just a day earlier Trump said he didn’t care what happens with the strait, and that other nations who need oil can go get it themselves. “There is no reason for us to do it,” the president said of facilitating the waterway being reopened.
The wear has not been popular among Americans. A Pew Research Center poll released late last month found that 61 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the conflict. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that two-thirds of Americans want a quick end to the conflict, even if America’s objectives aren’t achieved. An Economist/YouGov poll conducted last weekend found that only 14 percent of Americans support sending ground troops into Iran, which the Pentagon has reportedly been preparing to do.
From Rolling Stone US
