Donald Trump’s war on Iran has driven the price of a key fuel to its highest-ever level less than two months from midterm elections already dominated by the cost of living.
Diesel stood at $6.06 a gallon on Friday after climbing more than 55 percent since Trump launched “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28. The previous record was $5.82, set following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The price hike follows crude oil topping $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the fourth time since hostilities broke out in the Middle East. Average gas prices stand at $4.29 per gallon, only marginally behind May’s peak of $4.60.
Voters have consistently ranked Trump’s war and the cost of living as their anxieties going into the Nov. 3 polls, contributing to an almost 8-point generic congressional lead held by Democrats.
Alongside promising all American adults individual payouts of $5,000 if the Republicans retain control of the House and Senate, the 80-year-old president sought to reassure supporters at a GOP event in Dallas this week that the conflict will end “immediately” after the midterms because Tehran “can’t hold out any longer.”
That assertion flatly contradicts what his top advisers, Vice President JD Vance, 42, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 55, have told him behind closed doors.
Vance and Rubio have both said Tehran could well hold out amid continued military attacks and economic pressure until at least the end of Trump’s term in 2029, officials with knowledge of those talks told the Washington Post on Thursday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 46, would appear to be of the same view. The Pentagon has over the past several weeks dispatched more troops to the region and instructed troops already there to be prepared to bunker down until 2027 and possibly beyond.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment on this story.
