President Donald Trump handed Democrats a ready-made midterm attack line Tuesday when he told Daily Caller White House Correspondent Reagan Reese that Americans’ finances are not factoring into his Iran negotiations.
“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they cannot have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all,” Trump told Reese at the White House during a press gaggle Tuesday.
That answer may reflect a hardline national security posture, but it comes at a time when Republicans are struggling to sell Americans on their affordability message ahead of the midterms. The cost of the Iran War has ballooned to nearly $30 billion and gas prices are over $4.50 a gallon.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, when asked about Trump’s comments, didn’t seem to believe the president meant them — which could end up being the GOP line. Either Republicans will dismiss the president’s comments as being a blip or they will follow Trump’s lead in identifying Iranian nukes as a bigger threat than the price at the pump.
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