Fox News anchor Bret Baier told colleague Sandra Smith that while President Donald Trump’s economy is “cooking,” it could be “running a lot harder” if not for the Iran War and its accompanying chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz.

The president has been getting hammered in polls on a multitude of fronts, especially on economic issues like the cost of living and gas prices — and the war.

On Wednesday afternoon’s edition of Fox News Channel’s America Reports, Baier gave Smith a very positive summation of his phone call with the president and they both praised the “resilience” of the economy.

While agreeing with the optimism Trump has been expressing, Baier noted that “had this not happened, this economy might be running a lot harder than it is”:

SANDRA SMITH: Bret Baier is joining us now live here in our New York City studio. He is anchor and executive editor of “Special Report,” and author of the brand new bestselling book “The Case for America: An Argument on Behalf of Our Nation.”

Awesome book. Glad to have it in my hands here.

Bret, I know you’ve got some news for us as we do watch these markets. It’s just crazy.

BRET BAIER: It is crazy, right?

SMITH: Looking at the resilience in the American stock market, and now this drop in oil prices down, seven bucks today. What are you hearing?

BAIER: Well, I had a phone call with the president a short time ago, and he is optimistic about this deal, this memorandum of understanding, thinks it is going to lead to things.

He’s cautiously optimistic, I should say, but thinks — and I asked him what the time frame would be. He puts it at a week getting everything wrapped up. The key part, getting the highly enriched uranium out of Iran, making sure the strait is open completely.

And I think there’s still a lot of questions about the Iranian leadership. How are they going to back up whatever they signed and agreed to on this deal?

But there is a sense in his voice that he thinks this is a game changer.

SMITH: He spoke. It was a while at the White House for this Mother’s Day event for our military mothers ahead of the Sunday Mother’s Day. And he said this before your phone call, it sounds like, on Iran. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The blockade is unbelievable. The Navy has been incredible, the job they did. It’s like a wall of steel. Nobody goes through, in particular, the Iranians. They are not getting anything through one way or the other.

So they’re out of business. And we will see whether or not they are agreeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: I mean, similar message it sounds like, but a week. I was watching markets as you were saying that, because, of course, that’s what the markets are dependent on right now, how much longer this goes on.

And President Trump has vowed — and you have heard it from his economic team and beyond — that the price of oil and gas will drop significantly the second that this concludes.

BAIER: He thinks and is predicting it’s going to go down below where it was when we all started this.

SMITH: Right.

BAIER: Listen, you cover this more than I do about the underlying status of the U.S. economy.

And it seems pretty resilient, no matter what we’re doing, manufacturing up, the jobs numbers.

SMITH: Yes, good.

BAIER: Everything’s kind of cooking. And had this not happened, this economy might be running a lot harder than it is.

Watch above via Fox News Channel’s America Reports.

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