Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) thinks that President Donald Trump should’ve acknowledged the impact the Iran war could have on U.S. domestic energy costs and other factors earlier in the campaign.
Bacon Says Trump Set False Expectations
During an interview with Face The Nation late Sunday, Bacon defended Trump’s comments about the national average gas price being $4/gallon. “He was being honest and I think he was setting maybe false expectations in the previous months,” he said, acknowledging that it was going to be a “longer-term fight.”
Bacon said that Trump needed to set “appropriate expectations” about the situation. “I think he started out this whole war with ‘this is going to be an easy fight’,” Bacon said, adding that “those false expectations hurt him and it’s hurt the favorability” of Trump’s Iran campaign.
“We do have an affordability problem,” he said, but he said that U.S. inflation under former President Joe Biden reached 9.1%, and Americans have never recovered from that. He also said that Americans were feeling the pain at the grocery store and the gas station.
Tariffs, Weapons Shortage
“I think it’s better just to acknowledge, hey, this is a problem and we got we got to work towards getting wages climbing faster than inflation,” Bacon said. The Representative from Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District also said there needs to be a shift in tariff policy, as tariffs mean “a tax on consumers.”
Read Also: US, Canada Trade Officials Mull Cutting Tariffs on Auto Sector: Report
Bacon also shared his concerns about Trump not being aware of a weapons shortage. “That’s not a good thing. I think that’s the number one issue,” he said. “It appears there’s been a lack of transparency,” he said, adding that they should be getting some transparency once they return to Washington DC.
Trump Rejects Iran Ceasefire
The comments come as Trump rejected a ceasefire extension with Iran, saying that Washington would not extend the interim agreement after the 60-day period expired Monday. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slammed Trump over high costs.
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