Fetterman: Trump affordability remark was ‘clipped’

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Wednesday defended President Trump’s comment that he is not focused on the financial situations of Americans while negotiating with the Iranian government. 

“He said something that got clipped … saying, ‘I’m not thinking about [the] American people financially,’ but what he really was saying — he did say, is, ‘I’m really thinking that we can’t ever let Iran [build] a bomb,’” Fetterman told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“That’s the essence of what that is, and to hold that line,” the Pennsylvania Democrat continued. “I mean, how could we just walk away and … let that happen?”

Fetterman, who campaigned as a liberal in 2022, has aligned with the president on issues ranging from the conflict with Iran to border security to the construction of the White House ballroom.

But despite that, the Pennsylvania senator wrote last week in a Washington Post opinion piece that he was not switching parties, noting that he would “be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”

Before departing for Beijing on Tuesday, Trump said the financial situations of Americans do not motivate him amid negotiations to end the war with Iran and come to a new deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.

“Not even a little bit,” he told reporters when asked about motivations.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations. I don’t think about anybody.”

“I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

The conflict in Iran, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, has led to increased energy costs in the U.S. amid the turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz — a key oil shipping channel in the Gulf.

As of Thursday, the nationwide average cost of regular gas is more than $4.53 per gallon, according to AAA. On Feb. 26, two days before the U.S. and Israel launched the war, gas prices were less than $3 per gallon, according to AAA. 

Prices for all items, meanwhile, rose by 0.6 percent from March to April, driving the annual inflation rate up to 3.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Annual inflation in April was up 1.4 percentage points from February.

While a temporary ceasefire is still in place between the U.S. and Iran, the Trump administration is yet to reach an agreement with Iranian officials to end the hostilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Sunday that the war is not over. 

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran,” he told Major Garrett on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.” 

“There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu added. “There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there’s work to be done.”

Trump, meanwhile, is in Beijing for a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During his interview with Hannity, Fetterman said that China, an ally of Iran, should be among a host of countries demanding that the Islamic Republic halt its nuclear ambitions. 

“The whole world should join us, stand with us. China … Europe, all these other countries should say, ‘We should demand Iran end their nuclear ambitions, and now we can all get back to building up all of our nation and parts of the world,’” the senator told Hannity.