Trump tries to ease cost-of-living worries from Iran war on Kentucky trip
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US President Donald Trump arriving to speak at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky, on March 11.
PHOTO: AFP
- Trump declared "We won" the Iran war at a Kentucky rally on March 11, stating the US knocked out 58 Iranian naval ships.
- Despite claiming victory "in the first hour", Trump indicated the US would continue the fight to "finish the job".
- Trump credited the US military for degrading Iran's military but resisted a quick end, saying "We don't want to leave early do we?".
AI generated
HEBRON, Kentucky - US President Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans during a trip to Kentucky and Ohio on March 11 that rising petrol prices linked to the Iran war were temporary, as fellow Republicans worried that the increases were stoking voter anxiety about the economy.
Mr Trump’s campaign trip was his first since the start of the US-Israeli military operation in Iran on Feb 28.
It offered him a chance to sharpen his economic message and tout his record ahead of November’s mid-term elections, when his fellow Republicans will be defending narrow majorities in both chambers of the US Congress.
On his first stop at a plant in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr Trump’s initial remarks focused on the Iran war.
Petrol prices are up US$0.61 (S$0.80) from February on average in both Kentucky and nationwide, according to travel organisation AAA.
“Oil will be coming down,” Mr Trump said on March 11. “It’s going to come down more than we, than anybody understands.”
Mr Trump told Cincinnati’s Local 12 TV channel that the US would reduce the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) “a little bit”.
His predecessor, former president Joe Biden, also released oil from the SPR to limit price rises during the early months of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Mr Trump’s remarks on the economy in Hebron in northern Kentucky were the latest in a series of speeches he has delivered around the country to sell the American public on his economic policies.
Mr Trump touted his efforts to lower drug prices, one of the key selling points for Republicans in the elections, as well as cuts to income taxes on tips and overtime for many Americans, as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by Congress in 2025.
Hebron is part of the district represented by Republican US Representative Thomas Massie, a Trump critic who often breaks with his party.
Mr Massie led the high-profile push for more transparency from Mr Trump’s Justice Department in its handling of files connected to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Trump has endorsed Mr Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL officer and farmer, to face off against Mr Massie in the party’s primary on May 19.
“Thomas Massie is a disaster for our party,” Mr Trump told the Kentucky crowd. “He’s got to be voted out of office as soon as possible.”
In an interview with Reuters, Mr Massie remained optimistic about his prospects despite criticism from Mr Trump.
“The political reality of Wednesday is that more people are going to know that President Trump has endorsed against me,” he said.
“The good news is our polling shows that even if, in the impossible case 100 per cent knew that on the May 19 primary, I would still win.” REUTERS
