The president who repeatedly pledged to avoid his predecessors\u2019 missteps overseas is now seeing his own agenda derailed by an unpopular war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
None of this should surprise Trump. For decades, he mocked presidents<\/a>\u00a0who struggled with foreign policy challenges \u2014 Jimmy Carter\u2019s Iranian hostage crisis<\/a>, George W. Bush\u2019s eight-year war<\/a> in Iraq and Joe Biden\u2019s rushed exit from Afghanistan<\/a>. During his first term, eyeing a re-election campaign, Trump managed to limit his foreign excursions to avoid falling into this very trap.<\/p>\n Now the president faces an election season without his name on the ballot, but with his war in the background. Here\u2019s how that could play out for the economy, control of Congress and international tensions.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The toll on the U.S. economy<\/p>\n The everyday costs of war are mounting. Americans today are paying an average of $4.10 a gallon<\/a> for gasoline, up almost 30% from a year earlier, far from the $2 a gallon the president promised on the campaign trail. The total hit to U.S. households from higher gasoline and diesel costs since the war began tops $92 billion, or more than $700 per household, according to Brown University\u2019s\u00a0Iran War Energy Cost Tracker<\/a>.<\/p>\n Overall, the typical American household spent\u00a0has spent more than $1,000<\/a> extra as a result of the war due to higher fuel prices, groceries, interest rates and other costs, Moody\u2019s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimated this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump has tried to downplay the hit to consumers, calling the higher costs \u201ca tiny bit more\u201d to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon. \u201cI\u2019ll never apologize,\u201d he said earlier this month. \u201cI did the right thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It could have been worse. Oil prices have averaged well below $100 a barrel throughout the conflict. One reason is that Trump has repeatedly kept markets guessing about whether he might abruptly end the war, an outcome that could send prices sharply lower.<\/p>\n Yet it still could get much worse: The U.S. military has been quietly guiding oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, but renewed fighting with Iran could end that quickly. Gasoline prices are already at their highest levels ever for this time of year; any further spikes would likely exacerbate inflation worries, send bond yields even higher and spook investors in the stock market.\u00a0<\/p>\n The economic toll of the war is exposing the shortcomings of Trump\u2019s promises to supercharge growth. His Treasury secretary last year laid out a \u201c3-3-3\u201d plan<\/a>\u00a0to raise the growth of gross domestic product to 3%; reduce the federal budget deficit to 3% of GDP; and get the U.S. to pump 3 million more barrels of oil a day than before. Each of those goals remains far off target.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlay<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Trump\u2019s political price<\/p>\n The war is deeply unpopular. Just 31% of respondents approved of the conflict with Iran in a Reuters\/Ipsos poll<\/a> released Monday, the lowest since the war began \u2014 largely due to souring sentiment among Republicans.\u00a0<\/p>\n \tMore articles<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787835440143_n_mj_trump_missionaccomoplished_260827_1920x1080.jpg\")
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