'Didn't mean it': GOP senator scrambles after Trump's stunning admission
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press, ahead of departing the White House for Joint Base Andrews en route to Beijing, China, in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) found herself denying that President Donald Trump meant what he said when he claimed he didn't think about Americans' financial situation.

"When you're negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are American financial situations motivating you to make a deal?" the president was asked during a press event on Tuesday.

"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," Trump insisted. "I think about one thing. We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's all. That's the only thing."

Correspondent Pablo Manríquez asked Lummis for a reaction to Trump's statement, and she insisted that the president "didn't mean it," Scott MacFarlane reported.