Donald Trump’s bragging about gas prices has blown up in his face following his renewed attacks on Iran.
The price of a gallon at the pump has once again crept over $4, following the ninth consecutive night of fresh hostilities after the deterioration of the president’s ill-fated memorandum of understanding.
The temporary peace deal had given the president his first sniff of making good on his promise to lower gas prices following a dramatic spike caused by the outbreak of his war in late February. Prices at the pump have flirted with the $5 mark nationally and, in parts of California, exceeded $6.
Now things are moving in the wrong direction once again for the White House, after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and its government’s military wing, the Revolutionary Guard, said “this passage will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas,” the Guardian reports.
It comes despite a bullish Trump writing on Truth Social in late June, “GAS PRICES COMING DOWN, FAST! REPORT ANY ABUSES AT RETAIL LEVEL!!! President DJT.”
On Monday, the AAA put the national average price at $4.0030, up from Sunday’s $3.9980, which was up again from the average a week ago at $3.8720. That, in turn, was a far cry from the average one year ago, at $3.1410.
The U.S. has once again imposed a blockade of the strait, dashing any optimism about prices that had sprouted last month during the brief pause in hostilities.
While prices have not yet reached the highs seen earlier in the conflict, Axios reports that Trump was in the Situation Room with top advisors on Tuesday, where they discussed the possibility of expanding the scope of the operation.
His actions appear at odds with his words, clashing with the narrative the president has peddled throughout his conflict that high prices would be but a blip.
In March, eight days after the first bombs fell, he wrote in another Truth Social post, “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!President DJT.”
Now Americans are in their fifth month of being stung by the conflict, and as relations between Washington and Tehran worsen once again, it is feasible that consumers might not have respite any time soon.
On the last day of June, he blamed high prices on someone else: retailers and the California government.
In a shouty Truth Social post, he said, “Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!
“There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number, and California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline.
“Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said, “As the U.S. military degrades the terrorist Iranian regime’s ability to attack commercial vessels and disrupt the free flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices will plummet back to pre-conflict levels.
“President Trump remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance, cutting costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families.”
