He Admitted It

May 14, 2026

Before he left for China, the Misogynist-in-Chief answered questions from reporters. The video is available on C-Span:
https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-departs-for-beijing/679026
(the transcription below is mine)

At the 4:00 minute mark, in an exchange with a female reporter about inflation, he calls her stupid. At about 7:05, there is a question about the ballroom, possibly about the cost, that is unclear in the video; he answers the female reporter: “I doubled the size of it, you dumb person. I doubled the size. You are not a smart person.” If she was asking about the cost, that doubled too, from the original estimate of $200,000,000 to $400,000,000, not to mention the $1,000,000,000 Republicans in Congress want to spend on “security upgrades” for it.

Question (10:45): “When you’re negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are Americans’ financial situations motivating you to make a deal?”

POTUS: “Not even a little bit. 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. I think about one thing: we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all. That’s the only thing that [motivates].”

And there it is. He admitted what many of us have known all along: he does not care about the effects of his policies on Americans. He will push his policies through, do what he wants for his own reasons, and cost is no object (it’s not coming out of his pocket). Also, regarding his obsession with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, remember that Iran did not have nuclear weapons and could not have nuclear weapons under the JCPOA. It was only after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the agreement that Iran began to enrich uranium to high levels.

Follow-up by another reporter (15:20): “Just to clarify, did you say, did you say earlier that the only thing that matters to you when it comes to Iran is a nuclear weapon—you’re not considering the financial impact of this war on Americans?”

POTUS: “The, the most important thing by far, including our stock market, which by the way, is at an all-time high, but including whether or not our stock market goes up or down a little bit, the most important thing by far is Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Reporter: “What about the pressure on Americans and prices right now? [Unclear as Trump begins to talk] about Americans, how they’re feeling about what they’re paying for food?”

POTUS, talking over the reporter at first: “Every American understands, every American—are you listening to me?—every American understands, and they were, they just had a poll, like 85 percent, which is surprising it’s only that, they understand that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. If Iran has a nuclear weapon, the whole world would be in trouble, because they happen to be crazy. They’re not gonna have a nuclear weapon. Now, if the stock market goes up or down a little bit, the American people understand. When it’s over, you’re gonna have a massive drop in the price of oil, which a lot of people thought would be higher, and I mean it was a hundred dol– it was ninety-nine dollars yesterday, which is low, which is relatively low. When this war is over, oil is gonna drop, the stock market’s gonna go through the roof, and truly, I think we’re in the Golden Age right now, you’re gonna see a Golden Age like we’ve never seen before. The minute it’s announced, and I’ll be the one to announce it, because I’m the one that makes that decision. I could leave right now, and it would take them 25 years to rebuild their country, but I don’t want to do that, I want to have it complete and total—[so] you ready? As soon as this war is over, you’re gonna see numbers like you’ve never seen before.”

Notice that when the reporter asks about the cost of living, the price of food and gas, Trump talks about the stock market. The cost of living and the stock market are two very different things. But Trump can’t relate to buying groceries. Remember when he riffed on the word “groceries” itself? He is completely out of touch with the way the vast majority of us live.

The whole video is interesting to listen to, just for the lies and exaggeration. He describes things as he wants everyone to see them (e.g., at about 8:22, he says that people in Venezuela are “dancing in the streets”), which may not be the way they actually are. It’s also interesting to watch his body language. When he gets irritated with the female reporters, he bends down and gets his face closer to theirs, in an attempt to intimidate.

And on a side note: if he can’t stay awake during a normal day on the job, what will jet lag do to him in China? Will he doze off during the state dinner?