Trump: Americans' Finances Not Motivating Iran Nuclear Talks

WASHINGTON — With inflation at its highest rate in years and CBS News polling showing high pump prices straining many Americans' finances, President Trump told reporters Tuesday that Americans' financial situation does not motivate his negotiations with Iran. He said his sole concern is stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

When a reporter asked how much Americans' finances were motivating him to make a deal, Trump replied: "Not even a little bit."

"The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon," Trump said before departing for Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. "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 added that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon outweighs even stock market fluctuations. "The most important thing by far, including whether our stock market, which by the way is at an all-time high, but including whether our stock market goes up or down a little bit, the most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," he said in response to a follow-up question.

"Every American understands," he said.

The Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed with no clear resolution in the Middle East. The president's economic support has dropped. A CBS News/YouGov poll last month found 51% of Americans saying higher gas prices create financial hardship or difficulty. April inflation reached an annual rate of 3.8%, the highest of 2023.

Trump has said since the war began that outcomes for Americans would worsen if Iran got a nuclear weapon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a similar point. "Everybody needs to think about it this way," Rubio said at a White House briefing earlier this month. "If Iran had a nuclear weapon and they decided to close the straits and make our gas prices like $9 a gallon or $8 a gallon, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it, because they have a nuclear weapon. A nuclear-armed Iran could do whatever the hell they want with the straits and there's nothing anyone would be able to do about it."

AAA reported a national average gas price of $4.50 on Tuesday.