Donald Trump’s latest war is causing internal panic among the president’s top aides, with a looming energy crisis threatening his party’s grip on Congress.
Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, has reportedly sounded the alarm as Trump’s war on Iran sends the price of gas sharply higher—adding to voter fears about the economy.
This directly contradicts the affordability message Wiles and her underling, James Blair, have begged Trump to hammer, especially with November’s midterm elections approaching.
Trump has focused on the messaging, mentioning it at nearly all of his public engagements of late, even at wife Melania’s movie premiere in Washington, D.C.
However, Iran’s response to his “Operation Epic Fury” means that his messaging is hollow. Tehran has targeted the Gulf’s energy sector, pummelling infrastructure and sending crude oil up by more than $10 a barrel. This is higher than when Trump took office.
On Tuesday, prices leapt by the biggest single-day margin since 2022, and they’re up 20 cents a gallon since Trump launched his attack on Tehran—having apparently not worked out that starting a war in the world’s main oil-producing region might send crude prices higher.
This has created a tense atmosphere on the West Wing, with Trump’s lackeys “looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, especially gasoline prices,” according to one energy industry executive who spoke to Politico.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers “are getting screamed at to find some good news,” they added. “Folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative” of rising prices.
Politico reported that the White House took days to even start discussing strategies about how to fix the spiraling cost crisis.“The faction of the White House that would care about $80-90 oil [was] being silenced,” an executive told the publication. “There [were] louder voices winning.”
The issue has gotten so bad that the ideas suggested to counter it are becoming increasingly tenuous. One White House official reportedly floated the idea of a temporary holiday on the gasoline tax, but that would require action from Congress, and magnanimous decisions from oil executives. “There’s no guarantee oil refiners and gas stations would pass savings along,” Politico’s Playbook noted.
Trump officials also reportedly floated the idea of using the U.S. military to defend energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that the war would actually help bring down gas prices because success will mean that Iran will no longer be “restricting the free flow of energy.”
However, the clock is ticking towards the midterms, and most Americans primarily care about the cost-of-living crisis afflicting their day-to-day lives. If Trump’s team fails to bring down prices soon, it could spell disaster when Americans go to the polls.
The Daily Beast has approached the White House for comment.
