By Yiannis Damellos
Are you pissed off yet with Trump, or are you still waiting for this war to end and prices to return to their pre-war levels? Cause that’s not going to happen. I’ve been researching inflation and supermarket prices since COVID, and my assessment is negative. Oil prices won’t drastically drop, and coffee, cocoa, grains, produce, meat, or clothing won’t get cheaper anytime soon. Same for electronics and all products whose development depends on fertilizers. The war in Iran will go on as long as it is logistically supported, and your President won’t stop lying—unless he doesn’t have to, that is, if a few Republicans he’s pissed off recently decide to cut his war funding soon.
Beyond that, President Donald Trump ignited new criticism on Wednesday from Democrats and Independents alike after dismissing soaring gas prices tied to the Iran war as “peanuts,” a remark lawmakers said showed he still can’t understand the day-to-day financial strain ordinary Americans are living through. And he won't, because he is a billionaire folk out of touch with his constituency, especially those dumb Republicans who believe him to be a prophet destined to rule Jesusland. I would like to remind everybody what he paid in taxes in the most recent fiscal years
Also, the Justice Department on Tuesday scandalously expanded the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit over the leaking of his tax returns to include a pledge that the IRS will no longer pursue any claims it may have against Trump, his family members, and his companies over unpaid taxes. Outrageous!
Naturally, during remarks Monday while touring the press around the construction of his "precious" White House ballroom, bunker included, expected to cost around $400 million, Trump downplayed the spike, saying, “This is peanuts… It won’t be much longer.”
But when asked about whether he planned additional steps to lower fuel costs, Trump floated eliminating the federal gas tax—then largely dismissed the problem again, returning to the central justification for his Iran policy: he said the focus is on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But that was almost accomplished by the last treaty signed by Obama that Trump nullified to unleash his never-ending war, ordered by Bibi and his Zealots. Why believe that he will accomplish anything of this sort?
But even if Trump believes the strategic rationale is clear, the economic fallout is not abstract. Gasoline prices have risen sharply since the conflict began at the end of February—putting added costs into commuting, small-business logistics, and household budgets.
“‘Peanuts’ isn’t how my constituents would describe the spiking gas prices that make everyday life more expensive,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, adding that “POTUS isn’t paying for this war. Middle-class Americans are, and he couldn’t care less.”
Her fellow New Hampshire lawmaker, Rep. Chris Pappas, similarly linked the gas-price surge to real spending: he said Granite State families and small businesses have paid over $70 million more for gas since the war began.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker accused Trump of being out of touch, arguing the president doesn’t weigh Americans’ finances and even suggested outcomes are getting worse rather than offering relief.
Other Democrats attacked the optics as much as the substance, noting that Trump made the comments in the shadow of a major, publicly scrutinized construction project. “Trump first, working Americans last,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen said, contrasting the “gold-plated” ballroom with Americans’ rising costs. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also mocked the “peanuts” framing by comparing it to a small packet price.
This is not the first time Democrats say Trump has minimized the economic consequences of the Iran conflict. They cited prior remarks in which Trump appeared to dismiss whether rising costs were affecting his thinking about reaching a deal—insisting he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation.”
Behind the political fight, Democrats’ broader point is that the Iran war has practical, cascading effects on affordability. They pointed to disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil transit, and argued that energy price increases quickly ripple into transportation and food costs—raising the burden on consumers even beyond gas pumps.
While some economists say that if the war eased and the Strait reopened fully, oil prices would eventually drop, they also note that prices at the pump can take time to retreat—meaning families may feel the pinch long after the headlines fade.
An AP-NORC poll published May 20 and a New York Times/Siena poll conducted May 11–15 both found broad disapproval of Trump’s handling of the economy. Still, Democrats know that Trump remains politically powerful with his not-so-intelligent base—creating a widening gap between what the majority of Americans say they’re experiencing and how much urgency Trump appears to attach to it.
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