President Donald Trump said “everything’s going to work out fine and dandy” after an attack on a Saudi-operated oil pipeline, then gave a rather convenient answer on Saturday after being asked when his costly Iran war might finally come to an end.
“I think very soon,” Trump told reporters. “I think it’ll be probably right after the midterms. They’re trying to hold out as long as they can, to complicate the election, but I think people are wise to it because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.”
Trump took questions alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin during his two-day visit, repeating the decades-old talking point from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran was “weeks” or “months” away from having a nuclear bomb.
“And they would have probably hit us too, before we put out the fire,” Trump claimed Saturday. “But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. But I would say [the war will end] shortly. And oil will come tumbling down when that happens; oil prices will come tumbling down.”
Trump’s claim that the war will end shortly after the midterms arrives amid disastrous approval ratings, largely due to his handling of the economy and unpopular Middle East conflict. Trump also recently vowed to give every adult U.S. citizen $5,000 if Republicans win in the midterms.
He has given several contradictory reasons for launching the war and appears to have achieved none of the core goals he set earlier this year. As a result, gas and food prices have spiked as Iran responded to U.S. strikes by flexing its power over the Strait of Hormuz.
The now-regional conflict escalated Thursday after a major oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia — a U.S. ally and a critical option amid interruptions in Hormuz — was shut down following drone attacks launched from Iraq. Trump, who baselessly claimed Iran was responsible, tried to reassure the public.
“I have made a call with [Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman],” he told reporters Saturday. “He’s a good friend of mine, and it’s going to — I can just say everything’s going to work out fine and dandy. It’s going to be very good.”
The Iran war has already cost at least 18 U.S. military service members and more than 3,000 Iranians their lives. Some Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump, who is making the midterms a referendum on his supposed successes — despite his plummeting popularity.