The White House’s top economic advisor dismissed worries that an extended war in Iran could hurt U.S. consumers, saying it was “the last of our concerns right now.”
Kevin Hassett, the Director of the National Economic Council, attempted to quell consumer worries about rising gas prices and supply chain disruptions due to Iran’s impediment of the Strait of Hormuz on CNBC Tuesday morning. The U.S. average gas price now sits at $3.79, up 71 cents from a year ago. Some have warned that a slowdown of oil from the Middle East could have a massive impact on the world economy.
While Hassett reassured viewers the U.S. economy is “fundamentally sound,” he downplayed the possibility that consumers would face rising prices long-term – even if President Donald Trump extended his four-to-six-week timeline for the ongoing military operation.
“If [the war in Iran] were to be extended, it wouldn’t really disrupt the U.S. economy very much at all,” Hassett claimed.
“It would hurt consumers and we’d have to think about, if that continued, what we would have to do about that. But that’s really like the last of our concerns right now because we’re very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule,” Hassett added.
His comments appeared to be part of his wider effort to change the narrative about the chaotic war that has led to death and destruction across the Middle East.
Hassett insisted he has “a plan for every corner of the disruption from fertilizer to getting fuel to the West Coast and so on.”
But Democratic lawmakers pointed to Hassett’s comments as an example of the Trump administration not caring about the impact of the Iran war.
“Hassett really said this out loud. On live television,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X. “It’s almost unbelievable until you remember they are both the dumbest and cruelest among us.”
“A Trump official just said that everyday Americans are the ‘last of [their] concerns right now.’ On national TV,” Rep. Katherine Clark, the House Minority Whip, wrote.
“Trump’s team of Epstein class advisors says it out loud more often than you’d think: ‘consumers are the last of our concern right now,’” Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy wrote.
Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz said, “Well I’m not some sort of political expert but this feels like an unhelpful thing to say.”
White House Spokesperson Kush Desai said Hassett, “repeatedly discussed how he is constantly thinking about the short-term economic impacts from Operation Epic Fury, and how he is always examining new measures to mitigate these disruptions for everyday Americans.”
Desai said Hassett was only reiterating what Trump and other officials have said about the successful military attacks on Iran.
“America’s economic fundamentals remain resilient, and once the goals of Operation Epic Fury are accomplished, we will move past these short-term disruptions and have a safer, more prosperous world,” Desai said.
Trump administration officials, such as Hassett, have sought to paint the war in a positive light, asserting that the ongoing military strikes will make the world safer and eventually lead to lower gas prices as a whole.
The president has said consistently that he expects the strikes to last anywhere from four to six weeks, but that they could continue beyond that. He’s also bragged that the strikes are “ahead of schedule” – a point Hassett reiterated Tuesday.
But the constant positivity about the war does not seem to be working as polling finds most Americans disapprove of the war.
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