Letter to the editor: Trump: "I don't think about American's financial situations"

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 06.04.26

Inflation hit 3.8%, a three-year high, thanks to Trump’s unconstitutional tariffs and unnecessary war.

Trump foolishly caved to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who said he has “yearned” to attack Iran “for 40 years.” Trump ignored warnings that Iran would retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz.

One-third of the world’s fertilizer and one-fifth of its oil transits Hormuz. Gas prices skyrocketed. So did groceries, because food costs more to grow and transport. Economists say prices will keep climbing while Hormuz remains closed — and stay high long after it reopens.

Trump dismissed the 50% explosion in gas prices as “peanuts.” Asked if your financial pain motivates him to make a deal with Iran, Trump said: “Not even a little bit. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations — I don’t think about anybody.”

Trump later doubled down: “That’s a perfect statement, I’d make it again. The pain is much less than people thought. Everybody agrees.”

No, they don’t. CNN’s poll found 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. He has the worst approval rating on inflation of any president. Consumer confidence is the worst ever recorded. Americans feel worse off than before Trump took office.

Trump calls the affordability crisis “BS” and insists the economy is the greatest ever. “We’re in a golden age,” claims Trump, who slathered the Oval Office with gold, designed a billion-dollar gilded ballroom, and erected a 22’ golden statue of himself on his Doral golf course. Eat your heart out, Goldfinger!

He took the world’s richest men to China. When Trump says, “we’re making a fortune,” he means them, not you. How can stock markets hit record highs while Americans struggle to buy gas just to get to work? Because there are two Americas — the ultra-rich America and the one the rest of us live in.

Trump doesn’t think about how hard your life has become. He said so himself: “Not even a little bit.”

Eileen Farrell

Sunset Beach