2,200 additional Marines sent to Iran war
The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is deployed to the Middle East, bringing the total number of Marines participating in the Iran war to nearly 5,000.
- Americans across the political spectrum are blaming the Iran war for soaring gasoline and food prices.
- The conflict has created an economic strain, forcing families to cut spending and postpone major plans.
- Many have expressed frustration and confusion about the reason for the war and the president’s unfulfilled promise to end it quickly.
- Despite economic hardship, some Americans are also focused on the well-being of service members and their families.
A month after the U.S. jointly launched a war on Iran, Brenna Boyde believes the president’s repeated promises to end the war have gone in vain.
Boyde is one of a trio of Americans from various political affiliations whom USA TODAY asked about how their lives have changed since the conflict erupted. All three primarily believe that the war has caused soaring gas and food prices, wreaking havoc on the country’s economy. Their views are in line with the majority of Americans asked in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll and other surveys.
“I don’t think this is going to end,” said Boyde, a declared independent voter who works as a government official in Darlington Township, Pennsylvania. “I don’t want to believe there is a permanent solution.”
The president initially said the military “expedition” against Iran would last four to five weeks. He later expanded on his prediction that it would take several weeks to reach the goal.
For Justin Themert, a registered Republican from central Minnesota who voted for Trump, the end can’t come soon enough, but he doubts the president will make good on his promise of a quick recovery.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Temmert said.
Auto repair shop owner: The truth is hard to know
The maintenance shop at Temert’s auto repair shop in rural Foley, Minn., is out of action and may remain that way for some time.
There are fewer cars and pickup trucks to work on. Business this winter was down 60%. He compared it to when people barely left their homes during the pandemic. Business was slow, and even weaker when gas prices rose.
Temmert said other nearby businesses, including a nearby car dealership, have seen a decline in foot traffic.
“Everyone’s a little more cautious,” Temmert, 35, said. He joined Five Star Auto Repair as an employee 15 years ago and became co-owner about 10 years ago. “People are putting off repairs or doing other things to make ends meet. Everything is at a standstill.”
Temert voted for Trump in the presidential election two years ago. Themert said he is “on the fence” about the president’s stance on many issues, but appreciates Trump’s “straightforward” approach. He was also sold on the president’s promise to cut taxes and put more money in Americans’ pockets.
However, he admits that he has spent more money than he can remember. And he doesn’t know what to make of Trump.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s difficult to tell the truth right now,” Mr. Themert said. “Everyone wants to tell their own story about what’s going on.”
How about taking care of your pet or having dinner?
Temmert, who is raising a teenage daughter near Sauk Rapids, a town of about 14,000 people near the metropolis of St. Cloud, said she feels the economic pinch firsthand.
For more than a month, he had seen gas prices rise to nearly $4 a gallon. He was already seeing his grocery bill increase by $300 a month.
And his utility bill could rise again because his provider, Xcel Energy, is proposing an 8.7% increase in his monthly natural gas bill. Mr. Themert is already paying at least $20 more per month after two rate hikes last year.
“It all adds up,” Temmert said. Instead of celebrating his daughter’s 15th birthday with a fancy dinner and dessert at a restaurant, he and her mother took her bowling.
“We can’t do a lot at this point,” Themert said. “I don’t have any money.”
Then, two weeks ago, the family’s 13-year-old prediabetic cat, Kitty, developed severe vomiting and rapid breathing, Temmert said.
Local veterinarians were unable to treat Kitty, and Temmert said she couldn’t afford to drive two hours south through a blizzard to a veterinarian in Minneapolis, much less pay the more than $2,000 the veterinarian would charge for treatment.
Families had to make quick and sometimes painful decisions, he said.
“We had to make a choice: Do we donate $500 to $600 right away for the cat, or do we have enough money to eat?” Themert said. “This is a choice we had to make, but we didn’t have to make it two years ago.”
Fortunately, Temmert said Kitty’s condition has improved and the family has become more comfortable with insulin injections.
Temmert said he has no plans for a family vacation this year and if he does get a vacation, “it will be very close to home.” For a long time, the family decided to postpone renovating the house. Plans for new carpet, flooring and bathroom upgrades will be put on hold indefinitely.
“I’d rather have a meal than put in new carpet,” Mr. Themert said. “You can’t eat carpet.”
Despite poor business performance and rising costs of living, Temmert said he has no plans to downsize his store. The two mechanics he employs are “not going anywhere.”
Just a year ago, the garage was backed up by vehicles, Temmert said.
“If you go look at our schedule, we might have 15 or 20 vehicles a week and then we might only have one, two, maybe five,” Temmert said. He is hoping for an economic recovery this spring, also known as “pothole season.”
Temmert wants the Iran war to end because all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, are suffering in some way.
“I didn’t like the war, so I hope it ends soon. I’d rather everyone try to get along,” Temmert said. “Then we can get the country moving again and bring these prices down some.”
Youth counselor skips takeout order to buy more gas
As soon as Martin Allison heard about the Iranian airstrike, thoughts ran through his mind.
Are we going to war? How many lives could be lost? How long will it last? And how fast will gas prices, and everything else, go up?
“Everything happened so fast,” said Allison, 33, of Torrance, California. “I had to stop and breathe.”
Allison, a registered Democrat, remembers what happened four years ago when gas and food prices skyrocketed in Southern California as the United States was recovering from the pandemic after Russia invaded Ukraine. Now he worries about how much the war will affect Americans’ daily lives.
“This is definitely going to test our resilience again,” Allison said. “No one will really be saved this time.”
Allison said he is trying to understand how the war is unfolding, but he doesn’t know why the U.S. went to war with Iran. All he knows is that President Donald Trump told the American people that the war would not last long and that they would have to endure short-term economic pain.
“Is it all for a purpose or to protect people?” Allison said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten a clear answer from this government.”
Gasoline prices have risen to more than $7 a gallon across Los Angeles, Allison said, and the war is having a “trickle-down effect.” He juggles two jobs as a youth counselor at the Boys and Girls Club near Carson and as a personal fitness trainer while scouring the area for the cheapest gas. (He is also an aspiring boxer.)
“Forty dollars only buys about half a tank,” Allison said. “I’m always full.”
The economy is likely weighing more heavily on Americans’ collective psyche than the Iran war, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
“The public is paying attention to that, and the economic situation is influencing how they view their financial situation,” Zandi said, adding that consumer sentiment is gradually declining as people focus on their personal finances, inflation and purchasing attitudes towards household goods.
Allison, who lives in Torrance, Calif., said she has had to be more disciplined with her spending. Impulse buying, from random energy drinks to ordering takeout between gigs, has been put on hold.
And I’m starting to realize that next month’s 34th birthday weekend in Palm Springs could turn into a day trip with family and friends. And stick to a strict budget. I still have monthly bills and student loan debt. He said he has no plans to quit Netflix.
Alison said certain aspects of the war come to mind when: he Pumping gas. He hopes the “short-term pain” is short-term.
He noted that it was named after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached nonviolence and sought solutions for everyone. Allison hopes that President Trump’s continued promise to end the war will soon come true for everyone’s benefit.
“We’re in that situation right now, and all you can do is pray and hope for the best for the soldiers, their families, their children, everyone,” Allison said. “I just hope everyone returns home safely. The sooner the better.”
take a more humane approach to war
Boyde, a mother of three who lives in a small suburb of Pittsburgh, isn’t angry that Trump entered the war.
“I’m more frustrated with him,” Boyde, 42, said. “I’m very angry about the way he did it. It felt impulsive in a way and very irresponsible. And now so many lives are being affected by that decision.”
Boyde lives in Beaver County, near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, where it’s common to see American flags hanging outside homes and where everyone knows each other, including parents and grandparents, Boyde said. It’s because of this close bond that Boyde and her husband are trying to take a “more humane approach” to war.
Instead of venting his frustrations, Boyde said he chose to focus his energy on the safety of the service members who are risking their lives and their loved ones seeking a safe return home. This is a healthier coping mechanism, Boyde says.
“My husband and I say we can’t control this, but we think about the people who are fighting in the conflict and their families and how it affects not only us but other Americans and people around the world,” Boyde said, pausing to collect her thoughts. “It’s a difficult balance to strike, but there’s no point in stressing too much about the prices of things like food and gas.
“You can find a better way to voice your opinion about why we’re doing this in the first place,” Boyde added, directing his concerns to Rep. Chris Deluzio, a progressive Democrat and Iraq war veteran.
Delzio is one of six Democrats and military veterans, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, who the Justice Department tried to indict for appearing in a controversial November 2025 video titled “Don’t Abandon Ship,” in which he told service members they had the right to disobey orders they thought were illegal.
Transport kids to and from practice for $4 per gallon
A month into the war, Boyde and her family are making adjustments, including buying more meat and dairy products from local farmers and vendors rather than paying more at the grocery store.
“We live in a minivan on the weekends, and every moment of that is worth every penny. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Boyde said. She added that she cut costs by pre-packaging her children’s snacks and meals instead of frequenting fast food restaurants.
But she still has to shuttle all three of her children to and from soccer practices and games, sometimes for more than an hour, and has to pay $4 a gallon for gas.
Boyde admits that recently, on long drives, he has been thinking more about the war. She is still trying to figure out what exactly started the conflict.
“We’ll probably never know why,” Boyde said. She hopes the war will be resolved soon. “All I know is that I don’t want this war to go to waste and I don’t want it to go on for years.”
“I think this war started off irresponsibly,” Boyde concluded. “But I don’t want it to end up being irresponsible.”
