S
hould anyone still pay attention to what Donald Trump says? On the evening of Sunday, March 29, in a brief interview he gave to the Financial Times while aboard Air Force One, the American president once again managed to contradict himself within a matter of minutes. When asked about the United States' campaign in Iran, he said, "Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don't," referring to a site where Iran loads its fuel tankers up. He said the US was in negotiations with Iran, both direct and indirect. What was his war objective? "To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: 'Why are you doing that?' But they're stupid people."
US President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, on his way to Andrews military base in Maryland, United States, on March 29, 2026. NATHAN HOWARD/AFP
Faced with these incoherent statements, financial markets seem to have chosen to tune Trump out. On Monday, March 30, Asian stock exchanges dropped (down nearly –3% in Japan) and opened sharply down in Europe (France's CAC40 index has receded more than 10% since the war began), while the price of Brent crude oil fluctuated between $114 and $116 (about €101) per barrel over the morning.
