Trump says he will never apologize for higher gas prices caused by the Iran conflict, and voters are punishing him for it.

• Gas is around $4 a gallon and oil is climbing, with no full-scale war yet — an escalation could push prices well past $100 a barrel.
• A Financial Times poll found 53% of Americans say they are worse off under Trump, including 23% of Republicans; 64% say the economy is heading the wrong way.
• Tariffs, the war, and the tax bill are choices he made himself, which makes it hard to blame outside forces for high inflation.
• Iran may read his "pay a little more" line as proof the pain threshold has not been hit, giving them reason to squeeze oil harder.
• Meanwhile he is pushing to rebrand his White House ballroom as a military complex, a national-security angle that would let him build it without Congress and on taxpayer money.

Outlook: Expect gas prices and the economy to become the central attack line heading into the midterms.