Trump changes his tone on oil prices: From the Politics Desk

This is the online version of From the policy deska daily newsletter bringing you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, Jonathan Allen discusses President Donald Trump’s changing message on oil prices. Plus, Jane C. Timm delves into bills at the state level that seek to accomplish what Trump wants to do at the national level with the SAVE America Act.

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—Adam Wollner

As Iran war drags on, Trump changes tone on gas prices

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

President donald trump executed a quick change in messaging on the Iran war and gas prices this week. And it just takes a little understanding of mathematical values ​​to see it.

With the cost of oil rising, Trump initially told the American public that the benefits of war outweighed the drawbacks of price increases, which affected consumers not only at the gas pump, but in the form of higher costs of goods transported in vehicles that use the fuel.

“They’re going to go down very quickly when this is over, and if they go up, they’re going to go up,” Trump said of gas prices in an interview with Reuters last week. “But this is much more important than gas prices going up a little bit.”

He mentioned that “this” twice without naming it: the war.

In that original construction, the Iran war had a positive value, but rising gas prices had a negative value. Trump basically maintained that the result is net positive, despite the pain at the pump.

But this morning Trump altered the formula.

“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices rise, we make a lot of money,” he wrote in Truth Social. “BUT, for me, as president, it is of much greater interest and importance to prevent an evil empire, Iran, from getting nuclear weapons and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”

In the newer version, gas price increases are no longer negative. Instead, Trump framed them as a positive byproduct of war: an added advantage rather than a stubborn disadvantage. For those who disagree with him on gas prices, he maintains that the war itself is the most important concern. Therefore, no matter what kind of value is attributed to gas prices (positive or negative), they still carry less weight than war.

It remains to be seen whether his new math catches on with the American public. But for Trump, as the war’s chief spokesman, it may be more important to ensure he does not undermine his own policy. When arguing that the policy produced one good and one bad outcome (countering Iran and raising gas prices, respectively) he risked suggesting in his own words that his actions were producing mixed results.

More on the Iran war:

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Vows Revenge in Fiery First Statement, by Alexander Smith and Daniel Arkin

Iran appears to have carried out a major cyberattack against an American company, the first since the war began, by Kevin Collier

White House Compares Deadly Conflicts to Video Games and Movies in Memeified Videos to Win Support for Iran War, by Allan Smith and Richard Engel

Trump warns Iranian World Cup team to stay away from US for ‘their own life and safety’, by Jonathan Allen

Follow live updates →

As Trump Lobbies Congress on SAVE America Act, States Push Their Own Versions

By Jane C. Timm

While the Republican push to pass the SAVE America Act has stalled in Congress, even amid growing pressure from the President donald trumpEfforts are underway at the state level to fill the gaps.

Lawmakers in a dozen states have pushed legislation this year that would require residents to prove their U.S. citizenship to register to vote or bring a photo ID to the polls, according to the Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan group that tracks election legislation. Those proposals are two of the central pillars of the SAVE America Act at the national level.

The last example comes Floridawhere the Republican-led Legislature is poised to pass a bill this week requiring election officials to confirm voters’ citizenship through government databases when they register to vote or update their registration, as well as during list maintenance. If a voter’s eligibility is in question, proof of citizenship will be asked.

The legislation, once it reaches the Republican governor. Ron De Santis‘ signing table, would largely take effect next year, after the midterm elections.

Bills to add proof of citizenship requirements to voter registration have also passed both legislative chambers in South Dakota and Utahwhere they await the signatures of their Republican governors.

Mississippi Lawmakers in both chambers of the Legislature have approved bills that would require some voters to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. They will have to reconcile amendments to the legislation before it can be sent to the state’s Republican governor for his signature.

In IowaRepublicans in the state Senate passed a bill that would ask some voters for proof of citizenship and sent it to the House. and in KansasHouse Republicans passed a similar bill.

Additionally, at least one legislative chamber in eight states has passed new voter ID restrictions, according to the Voting Rights Lab: Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Utah and W.V..

Voter impersonation and non-citizen voting (the problems these bills seek to address) are extremely rare and already illegal. But election experts warn that these proposals would affect large sectors of American citizens without easy access to the documentation that the bills require of voters.

Read more →

That’s all from the Politics Department for now. Today’s newsletter was prepared by Adam Wollner.

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