In his 19-minute speech, the president said little about ending the Iran war but promised that rising gas prices would be a “short-term” problem.
White House sticks to original estimated 4-6 week timeline for Iran
President Donald Trump initially laid out a four- to six-week timetable for the Iran war. Thirty days later, the White House is still sticking to that estimate.
- The president did not give an exact date for ending the conflict, but promised to escalate bombing.
- President Trump acknowledged the “short-term” spike in gasoline prices and blamed it on Iran’s actions.
- Most Americans, including many Republicans, want the war to end, even if its goals are not achieved.
President Donald Trump painted a rosy picture of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran in a prime-time address on April 1 to address the conflict’s unpopularity.
To that end, he reiterated previous indications that the war would be over in two to three weeks and that gasoline prices, which had skyrocketed during the war, would soon come down.
The war has divided public opinion among Trump supporters since the United States and Israel began shelling Iran on February 28th.
According to a March 24 Reuters poll, 35% of Americans support attacking Iran, while 61% oppose it. In the same poll, President Trump’s approval rating dropped to 36%, the lowest since returning to the White House.
Although the Iranian regime is still in place, President Trump praised America’s battlefield successes.
President Trump said, “Iran’s navy is gone. Its air force is devastated.” “Most of their leaders – most of the leaders of the terrorist regime they led – are now dead.”
A March 31 Reuters poll found that 66% of Americans want the war to end quickly, and 27% said the United States should strive to achieve all of its goals in Iran, even if the conflict is prolonged.
Three key aspects of President Trump’s speech are:
There is no exact timetable for ending the Iran war.
President Trump’s 19-minute speech began by praising military strength, saying it had resulted in “swift, decisive (and) overwhelming victories on the battlefield.”
Although the U.S. and Israeli forces have destroyed many of Iran’s ballistic missile systems, the Islamic-based regime continues to fire missiles in the region at other Persian Gulf states and U.S. forces, including one that injured 12 people at a base in Saudi Arabia. March 27th.
But much of the interest in the president’s April 1 comments stemmed from the destruction being achieved and diplomatic goals about when the conflict would end. In this regard, the president said that the United States is “very close” to completing the “job” but that the pace of bombing will continue to increase until Iran relents.
“We’re going to launch a very tough attack over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’ll take them back to the Stone Age.”
President Trump admits gas prices will rise ‘in the short term’
The speech comes at a politically dangerous time for President Trump and Congressional Republicans, with the 2026 midterm elections on the horizon and the rising cost of living a political albatross for the ruling party.
Gasoline prices averaged more than $4 a gallon across the country this week, and only 24% of Americans approve of President Trump’s handling of the issue, according to a new CNN/SSRS poll released March 31. That’s $1 a gallon more expensive than a month ago when the airstrikes began, and Americans say it’s hurting their wallets.
When President Trump finally focused on the economic impact of the war, he reiterated his earlier assertion that it was a “short-term” situation and blamed the Iranian regime’s “extraordinary terrorist attacks on commercial oil tankers and neighboring countries” in the Persian Gulf region.
The president has said the end of the war will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil markets, but some experts are skeptical.
“They’re going to want to be able to sell oil, because that’s all they have to try to rebuild,” Trump said. “As supplies resume, gas prices will fall quickly. Stock prices will rise quickly.”
It’s too early to tell whether the president’s comments will ease domestic heartburn.
According to a CNN survey, about 63% of respondents said that rising pump prices are causing financial hardship for their households, including about 15% who said the situation was difficult.
Not much different from Truth Social’s post
Much of the speech was a rehash of Trump’s comments online and in various chats with reporters over the past month, including repeated calls to negotiate with Iran or risk annihilation.
The president spoke of the need to fight Iran to prevent it from becoming a nuclear power, and renewed his condemnation of former President Barack Obama’s agreements with foreign adversaries that Trump withdrew from during his first administration in 2018.
In the previous agreement, Iran agreed to give up 97% of its nuclear stockpile and 70% of its centrifuges (machines used to enrich uranium). But many argue that the war has given Iranians a better position than originally expected, especially given the global economic impact.
“Thanks to the actions we have taken, we are ending Iran’s evil threat to America and the world,” President Trump said.
However, by the end of the president’s remarks, there were no new announcements regarding the conflict.
Contributed by: Reuters
