Here's a rule of thumb for government officials: when discussing how war might affect regular people, maybe don't describe their financial pain as "really the last of our concerns." That's apparently not a rule White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett got the memo on.

During a CNBC interview Tuesday, Hassett admitted the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran would "hurt consumers"—then immediately waved it off with a phrase that's now lighting up social media and Democratic attack ads. "That's, like, really the last of our concerns right now," he told the network.

Timing, as they say, is everything. The comment landed as gas prices hit $3.84 a gallon nationally, up 24.8 cents from a year ago, and continue climbing. The Federal Reserve is preparing to deliver its March interest rate decision Wednesday afternoon, adding another layer of economic anxiety for consumers already feeling the pinch.

Hassett's broader point was that the U.S. economy remains "fundamentally sound" and that an extended conflict "wouldn't really disrupt the U.S. economy very much at all." He elaborated: "If [the war] were to be extended, it wouldn't really disrupt the U.S. economy much at all. It would hurt consumers, and we'd have to think about, you know, if that continued, what we would have to do about that. But that's, like, really the last of our concerns right now because we're very confident that this thing is going ahead of schedule."

A White House spokesperson, Kush Desai, later said Hassett had also made clear he is "constantly thinking about short-term economic disruptions from Operation Epic Fury and is constantly examining new measures to mitigate these disruptions for everyday Americans." That clarification might have landed better if it hadn't followed the "last of our concerns" soundbite.

The economic ripple effects extend beyond the pump. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz is hitting the global fertilizer supply chain just as the spring planting season begins, raising the prospect of food price increases downstream. High oil prices are pushing jet fuel costs up, driving flight prices higher too. Some experts are even raising the possibility of recession or stagflation if the conflict drags on.

Democrats didn't wait for the economic analysis. They moved fast to weaponize the remark. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) fired back on social media: "Tell that to Americans paying almost twice as much for gas as they were a month ago." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said the administration had "once again said the quiet part out loud."

Representative Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) suggested the White House should send Hassett to "every single swing House district" to repeat the message to voters ahead of November's midterms. "They don't care about the American consumer," Lieu said. "They don't care about people who can't make ends meet."

But the most colorful critique came from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. "Hassett really said this out loud. On live television," he wrote. "It's almost unbelievable until you remember they are both the dumbest and cruelest among us." Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz offered a more understated take: "Well I'm not some sort of political expert but this feels like an unhelpful thing to say."

So there you have it: a top economic advisor casually dismisses consumer pain during a war that's already pushing up prices, and suddenly everyone in Washington remembers they're in an election year. The remarkable thing isn't that a war might hurt consumers—that's Economics 101. The remarkable thing is saying the quiet part out loud on national television, then watching as your opponents happily repeat it for you.