President Donald Trump says he is “very happy” with rising oil prices, telling Americans struggling to make ends meet that it could always be worse.
As the standoff in the Middle East causes more pain at the pump, the 79-year-old billionaire also declared it was “certainly worthwhile” getting involved in another conflict in a bid to stop Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
The comments came despite Iran so far showing few signs it has any intention of giving up its enriched uranium or nuclear goals.
But speaking on Fox Business, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the unpopular conflict when asked by host Maria Bartiromo about the fact “oil prices are up 50% and the stock market had a tough first quarter.”
“You thought it was going to be worse?” she asked.
“Much,” Trump replied.
“It was certainly worthwhile,” he added, noting he expected the price of oil would be “much higher than it is right now.”
“If you told me that we were going to be at only $92 a barrel, I would have been very surprised. And you know what? I’m very happy.
“It’s going to come dropping down very big, as soon as it’s over. And I think it can be over very soon. So if they’re smart, it will end soon.”
The comments come as the war enters another day, with Brent Crude Oil now at almost $96 a barrel while gas prices sit at $4.14 a gallon.
Both sides are in a tenuous ceasefire as the standoff continues in the Strait of Hormuz, where about 20 per cent of the world’s oil usually flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway has been at a standstill ever since Trump began his war on February 28.
This has become a political liability for Trump, who came to office promising not to get entangled in foreign wars and also vowing to bring down inflation and cost-of-living pressures.
Instead, the annual inflation rate in the U.S. jumped to 3.3% in March 2026, and in another blow on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund warned that disruptions to oil markets could continue to slow growth and raise the risk of a global recession.
“The global outlook has abruptly darkened following the outbreak of war in the Middle East,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the I.M.F.’s chief economist, wrote in the report.
“The war interrupted what had been a steady growth trajectory.”
Nonetheless, the administration has been at pains to assure Americans that they need not worry.
Kevin Hassett, director of the president’s National Economic Council, made the bizarre suggestion on Monday that people should try to “imagine” lower fuel prices.
“Imagine if oil prices start going back down because the situation resolves itself somehow, then you could be looking at inflation close to zero,” Hassett said on CNBC.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said “a small bit of economic pain” caused by the Iran war was worth it to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.
And Small Business Administrator Kelly Loefler said on Fox that small businesses were “booming” and inflation was “stable.”
