Donald Trump Makes Stunning Admission About Gas Prices

President Donald Trump dismissed skyrocketing American gas prices as "peanuts" compared to the geopolitical importance of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, May 19, Trump defended the economic fallout tied to the failing war in Iran, stating that a nuclear-armed Tehran represents a far greater threat to global stability.

The remarks came as the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel hit $4.53.

Fuel costs have jumped roughly 50 percent in under three months following regional military actions and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

“It’s very temporary,” he claimed. “Look, as soon as this war is over, gas is going to–. You know, I had gasoline down to 1.85 cents in Iowa. I was in Iowa, and the stations had it at $1.85. But I was down to, in many cases, less than $2 a barrel, a gallon.”

Trump explicitly minimized the domestic price spike, asking Americans to endure short-term pain at the pump to avert a "nuclear potential holocaust.”

“I’m sorry, but we have to go down and take a little journey down to– we have to do something with Iran. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon. You want to see the world exploded? You want to see a problem? "This is peanuts, and I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while,” he said.

“But you’re going to have, and frankly, there is so much oil out there. One of the things that is happening is these big ships are coming up to Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, and they’re loading up,” he rambled.

The president drew fire from critics after doubling down and admitting, "But I don’t even think about that. What I think about is you can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t have a nuclear weapons, and then they fully understand it.”

The comments have intensified political scrutiny against the administration as domestic economic anxieties mount.

A New York Times/Siena College survey released around the time of the comments put Trump's public approval rating at just 37 percent, with 64 percent of respondents stating that the decision to engage in war with Iran was wrong.

A separate Marist University poll indicated that more than 80 percent of Americans are actively feeling financial strain at the pump, with 63 percent placing direct blame on the administration's foreign policies.

Congressional Democrats immediately slammed the response as wildly out of touch. Democratic lawmakers noted that skyrocketing fuel costs will demand an estimated extra $740 out of average household budgets this year alone, arguing that working-class Americans are funding a "war of choice."

“'Peanuts' isn't how my constituents would describe the spiking gas prices that make everyday life more expensive,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).