President Donald Trump doubled down on comments he made earlier this week about the extent to which Americans’ financial situations motivate him to make a deal to end the war in Iran.

“Not even a little bit,” Trump said when asked by a reporter as he departed for his state visit to China earlier this week. “The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran, they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, I don’t think about anybody.”

When asked about the comment during a Friday night interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump said it was a “perfect statement.”

“I’d make it again,” he continued.

“You can imagine how many people stopped the soundbite at ‘I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation’ so what’s your response to that?” Baier asked

“It’s very simple, when people hear me say it, everybody agrees,” Trump said. “Short-term pain, it’s gonna be short-term pain.”

Many Republicans this week attempted to explain away, or deny, that Trump made the statement.

“I don’t know the context in which he made that comment, but I can tell you the president thinks about Americans’ financial situations,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) added Wednesday. “I talk to him, on average, twice a day, sometimes three or four times a day, and we talk about it constantly.”

Pod Save America host Tommy Vietor called it “one of the dumbest, most politically damaging things he has ever said,” on Friday, joining a chorus of other critics on social media.