Welcome to meet the press now. I'm Kristen Welker in Washington. That was the closing bell on Wall Street Street as markets rallied from down over a thousand

points, but still closed in the red amid the growing uncertainty from the war against Iran.

The price of oil continued to tick higher. It's now up roughly 10% since the start of the war

just a few days ago. And today, the president posting on social media,

the U.S. will provide a financial lifeline for maritime trade.

And if necessary, the U.S. Navy will begin escorting tankers in the region

to prevent an oil supply crunch.

It, of course, comes as we count down to the first primary races of the 2026 midterms

tonight. With the economy and the cost of living, top of mind for voters, we will have much more

on the big political night ahead, a little bit later on this hour. But we do begin with President

Trump taking questions on camera for the first time since the U.S. and Israel launched those

joint strikes, killing Iran's supreme leader, Ali Qamani, and thrusting the entire region

into a broader war four days into the conflict. One of the biggest questions remains

why the president decided to go to war right now. Here's what he told reporters today.

Mr. President, did Israel force your hand to launch these strikes against Iran?

Did Netanyahu pull the United States into this war?

No, I might have forced their hands.

You see, we were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first they were going to attack if we didn't do it they were going to attack first i felt strongly about that we're heading them very hard and the the big scale heading goes now they no longer have air protection they no longer have any detection facilities at all left. And so they're going to be in

for a lot of hurt. It stands in stark contrast to what Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters

yesterday ahead of the administration's briefing with top congressional leaders.

We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action. We knew that that would precipitate in its ahead of the administration's briefing with top congressional leaders.

We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action.

...