President Donald Trump speaks from the White House on April 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House on Wednesday, repeating many of his claimed successes in the war against Iran while urging everyday Americans facing rising costs of living to “keep this conflict in perspective.”
“Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home,” said Trump, calling the mounting costs a “short term increase” and blaming the Iranian regime’s “deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries.” Trump has reportedly spent $25 billion on his Iran war and wants $200 billion more.
During his address, the president compared the Iran war to durations of the United States’ involvement in past conflicts, including World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq War. While Trump said that the Iran war had only entered its second month, the president once again did not offer Americans any clear timeline of when it would end while also stating the the U.S. would escalate attacks.
“We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong,” the president declared during the 19-minute address. “If there’s no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and properly simultaneously.”
Trump: Many Americans have been concerned to see the recent rise in gasoline prices here at home. You all know that we built the strongest economy in history, we're going through it right now pic.twitter.com/rvy4D5Ga3K
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 2, 2026
Earlier in the day, the president admitted that the federal government was prioritizing military spending and that it was “not possible” for it to take care of Americans’ basic needs such as daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, and all these “little scams.” Following his address and vow to continue the attacks on Iran, the price of oil spiked and stocks sank, according to The New York Times.
