President Donald Trump downplayed soaring gas prices at a campaign rally Wednesday night, telling supporters the cost is “a very inexpensive price to pay,” a comment that lands amid growing economic frustration nationwide.
Inflation has continued to weigh on the Trump administration, which enacted sweeping tariffs and launched a war against Iran, both of which have contributed to rising prices. The economic strain is casting a shadow over Republicans’ prospects heading into November’s midterms, with Democrats leading Republicans in a generic congressional ballot by a margin of 51 percent to 43 percent. Trump’s underwater approval ratings are compounding the party’s challenges, as the GOP holds only narrow control of the House and Senate.
A UMass survey from August pegged Trump’s approval rating at just 32 percent, one of several polls showing him well underwater with the public. As of Wednesday, the national average for a gallon of gas stood at $4.37, while diesel prices have climbed to record highs, adding to the squeeze on American families.
Speaking at a rally for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley in Gastonia, North Carolina, Trump told the crowd not to worry about the elevated prices. “It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done,” Trump said. “Remember that. It’s a little more. It’s even, if it was, frankly, even, it was a lot more. But that’s gonna come tumbling down. That’s gonna be like a rocket ship in reverse.”
Trump has repeatedly defended the war on Iran, which began in February, as necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. That justification has drawn scrutiny, however, since Trump claimed last year that Iran’s nuclear program had been “totally obliterated” following an earlier round of joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. Further complicating the narrative, then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told the Senate Intelligence Committee in March testimony that Iran did not actually have a nuclear weapons program when the February war began.
Adding to the pressure on the administration, a Fox News poll released Wednesday found 62 percent of Americans say higher grocery prices are a “major problem” for their families, underscoring the economic anxiety gripping voters ahead of the midterms.
The North Carolina Senate race, where Trump was campaigning for Whatley, could prove pivotal to control of the chamber. Whatley will face off against former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, in November. Polls have consistently shown Cooper running well ahead of Whatley heading into the general election.
[READ MORE: Trump Says Iran Wants a Deal, Voices Hope War Is Nearing End]
