'For once, he tells the truth': Brittany Pettersen slams President Trump for ignoring Americans' finances

President Donald Trump on Tuesday told reporters that he is not worried about the financial situation of Americans when it comes to pushing for a deal with Iran. Trump made it clear that not letting Tehran have a nuclear weapon was his top priority, claiming that "every American" understands that. The comments drew sharp criticism, with Democratic Representative Brittany Pettersen claiming that, for once, Trump is telling the truth. 

Speaking on the White House South Lawn to reporters before departing for a diplomatic trip to China, Trump was asked if the "financial situations of Americans" were motivating him to make a deal with Iran. "Not even a little bit," Trump promptly replied. "The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran is that they can't have a nuclear weapon; I don't think about the Americans' financial situation. I don't think about anybody. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all," the President went on to add.

When another reporter followed up, asking if he was thinking about the economic impact of the war, Trump doubled down, claiming that the "most important thing by far" was to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and that the U.S. stock market "goes up or down" a little bit. “Every American understands," the President added, as per NBC News. 

Trump's remarks promptly drew scrutiny from critics ​who have long accused the administration of prioritizing geopolitical objectives while ignoring the economic impact on Americans. Democratic Representative Brittany Pettersen responded to Trump's statement on X, claiming this was the first time that the President was telling the truth about what he really cares about. "For once, Trump tells the truth! He doesn't care about the well-being of the American people and never did," she wrote. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker further alleged that the comments made it clear that Trump doesn't care if Americans can afford gas or groceries, in his post on X.

The comments come at a time when the Labor Department's consumer price index rose 3.8% from April 2025, marking the biggest jump since 2023. Apart from the volatile food and energy costs, the consumer core prices rose 0.4% last month from March and 2.8% from April 2025, which is relatively modest according to AP, indicating that the energy price hike is yet to spill over into prices for other broader goods. While the Labor Department's figures showed that gasoline prices are up by over 28% compared with a year ago, figures from the AAA motor club listed the average regular gallon of gasoline above $4.50 on Tuesday, marking a rise of nearly 44% from the same month last year.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Jay Hurst, who is performing the duties of the Pentagon Comptroller, told Congress that the cost of war against Iran had gone up from $25 billion last month to $29 billion during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. Hurst shared that the costs were primarily associated with updated repair and replacement of equipment and the general operational costs, CNN reported. On the other hand, Reuters reported that U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that, currently, the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon hasn't changed since last year, despite two months of war.