The implications of Donald Trump’s decision to attack and start a war with Iran hit the White House like a tidal wave on Sunday as administration officials went into panic mode when the price of oil skyrocketed.
Trump "flipped out" over skyrocketing oil prices as the barrel approached $120, according to Financial Times columnist Ed Luce, who revealed the presidential meltdown on MS NOW. A White House insider confirmed the account to Politico.
The outburst exposes a fundamental miscalculation by the administration: Trump officials apparently never anticipated that military operations in the Middle East would send energy markets into turmoil.
A former Trump administration official admitted the administration requires a "consistent, multiweek read" of oil prices before reconsidering its strategy. "These temporary little gyrations are not what they're going to be basing their policy on," the official said, signaling that short-term price spikes won't alter military decisions.
Multiple officials confirmed the administration has never seriously entertained changing its military approach in response to oil price increases.
Yet the Sunday price spike caught even White House insiders off guard. "At the worst moments [Sunday] night, it was insane," a person close to the White House said. "That definitely surprised me, and it absolutely surprised them."
Rather than adjust course, administration officials spent Monday attempting damage control—reassuring panicked traders about supply chain stability while simultaneously trying to calm anxious Republicans. GOP lawmakers worry the Iran war directly contradicts their midterm message centered on lowering the cost of living.
Public concern is substantial. More than 70 percent of voters expressed worry that the war will drive up oil and gas prices, according to a Quinnipiac poll.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers dismissed the price increases as temporary, claiming Trump views elevated oil and gas costs as "short-term disruptions."
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