Trump ran on lowering gas prices. The war with Iran is challenging that promise : NPR
President Trump has made lowering gas prices the centerpiece of his affordability agenda. It now faces the political perils of war with Iran, while the Middle East’s energy infrastructure is disrupted.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Operations at Iraqi oil terminals are suspended, according to the Iraqi government. It follows attacks on two oil tankers in Iraqi territorial waters. Gas prices have skyrocketed since the start of the war. The average cost of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the United States is more than 60 cents higher than last month. President Trump described this as a very small price to pay for security and peace. Tamara Keith, NPR’s senior White House correspondent, reports.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: At a campaign rally in Kentucky yesterday, signs behind Trump pointed to higher wages and lower prices. But when it comes to a key expenditure, Trump has had to put a positive spin on a difficult situation.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But oil prices are already falling. And it will go down, but we won’t leave until this work is done.
KEITH: Overnight, oil prices shot up and remain significantly higher than before the war with Iran started. Twenty percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran is making it too dangerous for ships to navigate. Dustin Meyer works at the American Petroleum Institute, a professional group.
DUSTIN MEYER: So any time you see a cross-Strait disruption, especially if it’s of the magnitude of what we’re experiencing now, you’ll see a price response. This is what we have seen in recent days. And you can expect markets to continue to be volatile until it becomes clear when the strait will reopen.
KEITH: At this point, it’s hard to find clarity, even though Trump in recent days has called the war a short-term excursion.
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TRUMP: It was a trip that a lot of people wouldn’t have taken. I knew oil prices would rise if I did this, and they probably rose less than I thought.
KEITH: This is a stark change from the way Trump talked about gas prices before the war.
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TRUMP: Many of them are 1.99 and 1.91. I saw we have them now for less than $2 a gallon.
KEITH: Lowering gas prices was his response last fall when pressed on voters’ concerns about affordability.
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ASSET: When you have energy and when you have less fuel, everything else follows. It’s such a big category. So when energy prices are lower, which you admit we do, in essence, that means everything else. We are therefore the winners in terms of financial accessibility.
KEITH: Unfortunately, for the president and consumers, the opposite is also true.
STEPHEN MOORE: These higher energy prices ripple through the entire economy.
KEITH: Stephen Moore is a former economic adviser to President Trump.
MOORE: Part of the problem for President Trump is that some people are already complaining about prices.
KEITH: The Trump administration announced yesterday that it would tap the strategic oil reserve – 172 million barrels over four months. This is a play President Biden attempted after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Jared Bernstein was on the Council of Economic Advisers.
JARED BERNSTEIN: You take me back to a very difficult and somewhat traumatic time.
KEITH: Gasoline got to $5 a gallon. Consumers were crazy. The president and everyone else wanted a solution. Bernstein says tapping the reserve has brought prices down a bit.
BERNSTEIN: But it certainly didn’t change what they thought about this increase and how much it really dented their impression of the overall economy.
KEITH: Americans see the price of gasoline every few blocks. And when prices go up, people feel it. In 2012, reality TV star Donald Trump appeared on Greta Van Susteren’s show on Fox News.
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GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: Will gas prices increase by November or not?
TRUMP: They’re increasing enormously. They are already mounted. If you look at the last four weeks, they have already increased. And I think that could also be an important factor for the elections. I truly believe gas prices are skyrocketing.
KEITH: Republicans have to hope gas prices aren’t a big factor in November.
Tamara Keith, NPR News.
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