Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voiced support for President Donald Trump’s recent remarks prioritizing stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, even as those comments drew attention for downplaying concerns about Americans’ financial struggles.

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Fetterman said Trump’s statement had been taken out of context and that the president’s core message was centered on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.

“He said something that got clipped … saying, ‘I’m not thinking about [the] American people financially,’ but what he really was saying — he did say, is, ‘I’m really thinking that we can’t ever let Iran [build] a bomb,’” Fetterman told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

“That’s the essence of what that is, and to hold that line,” the Pennsylvania Democrat continued. “I mean, how could we just walk away and … let that happen?”

Fetterman, who ran as a liberal during his 2022 campaign, has in recent months found common ground with Trump on several major issues, including the conflict with Iran, border enforcement, and even plans related to the White House.

Despite that alignment on certain policies, Fetterman made clear he is not changing his political affiliation. Writing last week in a Washington Post opinion column, he said he would remain a Democrat, explaining that he would “be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”

Trump’s original comments came before his departure for Beijing earlier this week, when he was asked whether Americans’ financial conditions influenced his approach to negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

“Not even a little bit,” he told reporters when asked about motivations.

“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added. “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situations. I don’t think about anybody.”

“I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

The ongoing conflict with Iran, which began following U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, has had economic repercussions at home, particularly in rising fuel prices linked to instability in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments.

As of Thursday, the national average price for regular gasoline has climbed above $4.53 per gallon, according to AAA. Just two days before the conflict began, prices were below $3 per gallon.

Inflation has also ticked upward, with consumer prices rising 0.6 percent between March and April, pushing the annual inflation rate to 3.8 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That marks a 1.4 percentage point increase since February.

Although a temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran remains in place, no final agreement has been reached to bring a permanent end to the hostilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said over the weekend that significant threats still remain despite the pause in fighting.

“It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material, enriched uranium that has to be taken out of Iran,” he told Major Garrett on CBS News’s “60 Minutes.”

“There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” Netanyahu added. “There are still proxies that Iran supports. There are ballistic missiles that they still want to produce. Now, we’ve degraded a lot of it. But all that is still there, and there’s work to be done.”

Meanwhile, Trump is in Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During his appearance with Hannity, Fetterman argued that China, along with other global powers, should join the effort to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“The whole world should join us, stand with us. China … Europe, all these other countries should say, ‘We should demand Iran end their nuclear ambitions, and now we can all get back to building up all of our nation and parts of the world,’” the senator told Hannity.

{Matzav.com}