Vice President JD Vance admitted Wednesday that the Trump administration has a “lot of work to do” on the economy, a day after President Donald Trump drew fire for saying he was not motivated by “Americans’ financial situation” to make a deal to end the war with Iran.

The war has sparked soaring energy costs and the latest inflation report was the highest in three years, propelled by surging gasoline prices.

“My message to Americans is we know that we have a lot of work to do in order to deliver on the prosperity that the American people deserve. The president is hyperaware of this. I’m hyperaware of this. We talk about it all the time,” Vance said.

On Tuesday, while departing for China, Trump said: “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

The response from the president, who was responding to whether Americans’ financial situation was motivating him to make a deal with Iran, drew criticism from Democrats.

Vance suggested that Trump’s comments were mischaracterized.

“Well, I don’t think the president said that,” he said. “I think that’s a misrepresentation of what the president said.”

Vance also said he agreed with Trump that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.

The vice president went on to say that the president and the administration “care about how the American people are doing economically.”

Vance’s comments come after Tuesday’s inflation report, which shows inflation at its highest level since May 2023. Although Vance said the administration has a lot of work to do on the economy, he continued to place blame on the Biden administration.

Most Americans associate issues surrounding the economy with Trump, with a recent CNN poll finding that 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also attempted to clean up after Trump’s comments on Wednesday.

“I don’t know the context in which he made that comment, but I can tell you the president thinks about Americans’ financial situations. I talk to him on average, twice a day, sometimes three or four times a day, and we talk about it constantly,” Johnson said on Capitol Hill.

“He’s laser-focused on trying to resolve the conflict in Iran, because if we get the Strait of Hormuz — when we get the Strait of Hormuz reopened, that will alleviate a lot of pressure with gas prices and other things in the economy.”

And while Republicans work to get the economy and inflation under control, Johnson conceded that legislation isn’t the only factor affecting affordability across the country, saying that the war in Iran “put a little damper on that.”

And as the national average price of a gallon of gasoline stands above $4.51, Johnson expressed optimism that gas prices will come down and that inflation will settle once the conflict in Iran is resolved, stressing that Trump is “laser focused on it.”