ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, March 15 — In the two weeks since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, President Donald Trump has increasingly faced political setbacks tied to the conflict, including news coverage disputes and concerns among Americans about the toll of fighting, surging oil prices and dropping financial markets.
Trump has grown more agitated with news coverage and has failed to find an explanation for why he started the war or how he plans to end it that resonates with a public worried about American deaths in the conflict, the economic pressures from higher energy costs, and the broader market dip, according to the Associated Press reporting. Even some of his supporters are questioning his plan, and his overall poll numbers have been declining, the report said.
The political pressure is landing as Democrats press their case against Trump’s Iran policy ahead of the November midterms, when control of Congress is at stake. The AP reported that Democrats, still reeling after Trump’s 2024 election win, have come together to oppose the administration’s approach and to point to economic turmoil as evidence that Republicans have not kept promises to lower everyday costs.
“I think Democrats are well-positioned for this November and the midterms,” Kelly Dietrich, CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee, said. Dietrich argued that the past two weeks show the administration failed at long-term planning, saying the White House was “flying by the seat of their pants, and the rest of us are paying the price.”
On Air Force One and during a weekend that included time at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump also showed frustration toward allies and other countries dependent on Middle Eastern oil for not doing more to counter Iran. The AP reported that Trump name-checked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying Starmer initially declined to put British aircraft carriers “into harm’s way,” and that Trump told reporters, “Whether we get support or not,” adding, “We will remember.”
Trump’s weekend included time at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and attendance at a closed-door fundraiser for his MAGA Inc. super PAC at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night, the AP said. The report also noted that last weekend Trump played golf a day after witnessing the dignified transfer for six U.S. soldiers killed in the Iran war, and that a political action committee used a photo from the transfer in a fundraising email. Trump dismissed a question about whether using the image was appropriate, saying, “there’s nobody that’s better to the military than me.”
The administration’s public unhappiness with coverage has also escalated, the AP said. It reported that Trump cheered on a broadcast regulator for threatening to pull broadcast licenses unless they “correct course,” and that Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that coverage of the war had been influenced by Iranian propaganda that exaggerated the military and political strength of Iran’s leaders and their support among the country’s people.
As the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz continues, Trump has also begun arguing the United States will need help from the international community to reopen the route for oil tankers, according to the AP. The report said Iran has stated it plans to keep up attacks on energy infrastructure and to use its effective closure of the strait as leverage against the United States and Israel, and that a fifth of the world’s traded oil flows through the waterway. Trump told reporters he was talking with “about seven” countries about providing military support, but he would not identify which countries or say when a coalition might form.
Trump singled out allies in Europe as he pressed his case, telling reporters, “We’re always there for NATO,” and that it would be “interesting to see what country wouldn’t help us with a very small endeavor.” He added, “It’s something that we don’t need and these countries do need,” and said it was “a good thing for other countries to come in.” He then told reporters, “Really I’m demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory,” the AP reported.
Responses from other governments have been cautious, the report said. South Korea planned to “closely coordinate and carefully review” Trump’s comments, while Japan said it was closely watching developments. Britain’s defense ministry said it was “discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region.” A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said keeping the strait “safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community,” and that China would “continue to strengthen communication with relevant parties,” and Trump declined to say whether China would join the effort despite being slated to visit Beijing later this month.
The AP reported that Trump had pledged at the beginning of the war that U.S. naval ships would escort tankers through the waterway, but that such escorts have not happened yet. It said questions about the strait also undercut Trump’s earlier political messaging, including remarks at a Kentucky rally in which he said, “We won,” and added that “in the first hour, it was over.”
Beyond the diplomacy around shipping lanes, the AP also tied the political pressure to economic policy decisions. It reported that the U.S. Treasury Department announced a 30-day waiver on Russian sanctions intended to free up Russian oil cargoes stranded at sea to ease supply shortages linked to the Iran war. The move has drawn criticism from allies, the report said, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calling easing sanctions “not the right decision” and saying it “certainly does not help peace” because it leads to a “strengthening of Russia’s position.”
With midterm races now starting to heat up, Trump was asked about how voters may respond as gas prices rise. The AP reported that Trump said, “Politically, sure, everybody has concern — I have to do what’s right,” and that he could not say, “Gee, I don’t want to have any impact on oil prices for three or four weeks, or two months, and we’re going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “Americans are feeling it right now” and that it would last “for a few more weeks.”
The AP said Iran’s war footing has also divided Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base between those who support the action and those who say Trump campaigned on ending wars. Democrats, meanwhile, have been predicting possible midterm gains, the report said, rivaling the “blue wave” election of 2018 during Trump’s first term. Democratic strategist Brad Bannon said Democrats need to “keep reminding people that he made a promise to bring prices down, and they’re still going up,” and warned that “they’re going to go up even more because prices in gasoline can increase prices of everything else, including at the grocery store.”