Trump sparks outrage with claim he will 'never apologize' for issue affecting over half of Americans

President Trump has been slammed after stating he will 'never apologize' for key issue sparked by the Iran war, as Americans continue to suffer.

Around 95 percent of Americans believe the US is facing an affordability crisis, with the rising cost of groceries and gas among their biggest concerns.

But the president has noted that people 'paying a little bit more' for their everyday items is not such a big deal after all.

"So remember that," he said, speaking at a rally in Long Island, New York, last week (August 14).

Trump said: "For you to pay a little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so a very evil country cannot have… a country, really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world, we don’t want to have them have nuclear weapons."

He added: "When you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4. It’s Ok, I mean, it’s… I’m not… I’m not… I’ll never apologise; I did the right thing."

The controversial statement has received a hefty amount of backlash online, with one likening Trump's second term in office to a 'colossal rug-pull'.

Trump has dismissed the affordability crisis in the US. (Getty Stock Images)

One user wrote: "I don't remember Trump saying during the campaign that we would be paying more for gas to fund a new war."

"Thank you Donald for the incredible sound bite that's about to get played everywhere," another added.

Writing about the crowd, a third said: "They clapped. He openly just admitted that he failed one of his biggest campaign promises….and they clapped."

"33% increase is NOT tiny to the average American," another wrote.

As one user added: "He thinks almost double is a tiny little bit."

The recent survey, conducted by Harris Poll, revealed that 57 percent of Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse.

The president said he will 'never apologize'. (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

And among voters who believe there is an affordability crisis, more than half (54 percent) argued that neither party has a solution.

The gas price claims came as Trump announced that the Strait of Hormuz would soon become US territory.

And he 'confirmed' this just days later in a post on Truth Social.

Speaking to those who gathered at the rally on Friday (August 14), the president said: "After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated... pretty soon I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.

"Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to."