Donald Trump’s advisors know that high gas prices aren’t great for campaigns, but the president isn’t listening. In Georgia Saturday night, he boasted about the boosted wealth, while acknowledging that the optics aren’t good for his goals.
Trump has been making the rounds, campaigning for Republican candidates as early voting proceeds, but it’s not clear whether his support is helping or hurting their chances. Instead of creating sound bites that show his candidates in the best light, he’s producing ‘glitch’ clips, bizarre monologues on male beauty, and confessions that his own team is (still) struggling to control his public behavior.
The Confession: Donald Trump’s Advisors Told Him Not To Say This
Several times over the course of his political career, Trump has announced that he’s not supposed to say something, but is saying it anyway. He sometimes even predicts headlines, acknowledging that what he calls the “fake news” will report his words, as he admitted this time.
“Somebody will say, the Fake News, ‘He’s bragging about making money while people are suffering!'”
Trump may want his supporters to believe that sentiment is ‘fake,’ but this comes after he describes consumers as paying “a little higher” for gas (gesturing to emphasize what a tiny difference he believes gas prices make for the average American) and declaring that oil and gas companies are raking in the profits in trillions of dollars.
“I said, I don’t give a damn, I’m going to say it. We’re making a fricking fortune.”
The Truth About Gas Price Trends
Trump leans heavily on his assertion that gas is cheaper now than it was under Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and continued promises that the cost will go “way down.”
It’s true that there was a spike in gas prices in 2022, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resultant uncertainty about supply lines. GasBuddy‘s stats show the peak cost at $5.01. Biden’s administration responded to that peak with actions to bring down costs, including releasing strategic reserves. In fact, Trump criticized Biden for doing so, as a Roll Call transcript of a September 2022 Trump rally shows.
“Now, he’s using that to keep prices down as much as he can just before the election. And right after the election, it’s going to double up and go higher than anybody ever believed.”
Gas prices didn’t “double up and go higher” after the midterms, though. They fluctuated a bit, dependent as always on a wide range of global and political factors. By the time Trump retook office, the average price was around $3 per gallon.
Since then, Trump has launched military strikes on Iran, which as the International Energy Agency explains, have had effects on supply lines.
“Disruptions to Middle Eastern crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and gas transits – together with attacks on the region’s oil infrastructure resulted in a global supply shock of unprecedented magnitude.”
Combined with Trump’s sanctions and tariffs, and a reduced capacity from American refineries, it’s a recipe for prices most Americans just can’t afford. The current national average is above $4 per gallon, and people are hurting. Still, Donald Trump assures us, somebody somewhere is getting rich, no matter how that hurts everyone else.
Will Gas Prices Come Down After Midterms?
Several efforts are underway to make gas more affordable for consumers. Some states have temporarily suspended or reduced taxes on gasoline, and it’s certainly possible that the federal government could again release oil reserves to bring prices down. In fact, under Trump, there have been several more strategic releases, including one announced by the Department of Energy at the end of September.
Despite this, the price at the pump remains high.
What happens after November will depend on multiple factors, including the president’s actions and international relations. There are actions Trump could take (now, or after elections) to help alleviate costs, but if the current international conflicts continue, energy prices will continue to be affects.
These prices, in turn, affect everything else Americans need. Food and other consumer goods have to be transported on trucks owned by companies that are paying more for fuel. Services from food delivery to home utilities rise with the cost of energy. Food production costs rise when farmers pay more to fuel their tractors and power their operations.
Gas prices are harsh on consumers, but the bigger picture is that higher energy costs are making everything we use cost more.
It’s no wonder Donald Trump’s advisors warned him that bragging about trillions of dollars in profits wouldn’t be a good look.
