Key events
Trump says he doesn’t ‘think about Americans’ financial situation’ as he travels to China
Morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.
Donald Trump is set to land in Beijing today for high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with the war on Iran expected to loom large over the summit.
Before departing for his trip to China, the US president told reporters he does not consider the economic impact the war is having on Americans and that stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon was his top priority.
“Not even a little bit‚” Trump said when asked to what extent “Americans’ financial situations” were motivating him to reach a deal with Iran.
“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran – they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” he said.
“I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
US inflation rose 3.8% in April from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the highest jump since 2023 as conflict in the Middle East continued to drive energy prices and everyday costs for Americans. In March, the consumer price index, which measures the price of a basket of goods and services, rose 3.3%, up from 2.4% in February.
Since Trump began the war on 28 February, gas prices in the US have surged past $4.50 a gallon, with fears it could stay elevated for longer as the strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil supplies before the conflict, remains effectively shut.
Trump attempted to allay those fears by insisting his policies “are working incredibly”.
He said: “If the stock market goes up or down a little, the American people understand.
“When this war is over, oil is going to drop, the stock market is going to go through the roof, and truly, I think we’re in the golden age right now. You’re going to see a golden age like we’ve ever seen before.”
Trump has sought help from China, a close ally of Iran and the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to convince Tehran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and end the war. But he told reporters yesterday that he won’t “need any help with Iran” and the war will be won “one way or the other – peacefully or otherwise”.