Trump Outbursts over Oil Shock Go Off Rails as His Aides Quietly Panic

THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

The New Republic

News, Politics

4.4 • 800 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Trump has been all over the place on the global oil shock created by his war amid Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier this week he angrily claimed that the price hikes are a small price to pay for world peace, adding: “ONLY FOOLS WOULD DISAGREE!” But on Thursday he offered some bizarre new spin, claiming that the U.S. “is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” The idea that “we” all benefit prompted intense criticism and underscores his chaotic approach to this fiasco. Meanwhile, CNN reports that Trump officials have started to “panic” and are in a state of “alarm” about the situation, even as its global impact is rapidly worsening. We talked to international relations expert Nicholas Grossman, who’s been arguing that the Iran saga is catching Trump off guard. We discuss why the oil shock’s consequences are so dramatic, how this all reveals the limits to Trump’s bullying powers, and what it all says about MAGA’s tendency to underestimate resistance to its designs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:06.7	I'm your host, Greg Sargent.
1:22.5	The global fiasco that Donald Trump has created around the Strait of Hormuz is rapidly getting worse.
1:28.7	An international agency says the closing of the strait is creating the largest global oil supply disruption in history. And a striking New York Times report outlines the enormous consequences
1:34.7	this is starting to have for the world economy. There's still no sign that Trump knows how to get
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