Donald Trump on Thursday downplayed the economic toll the war in Iran is having on gas prices across the United States, writing on social media that “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.”
The president’s comment came as the American Automobile Association reports that the average price of a gallon of gasoline reached $3.60, a week after the start of the US-Israeli military operation against Iran sparked the largest price increase since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Costs at the pump have risen in line with the price of crude, which rose above $100 a barrel on Thursday as Iran launched attacks on oil facilities across the Middle East, despite the release of global oil reserves aimed at stabilizing markets.
“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices rise, we make a lot of money,” the president wrote in Truth Social.
“BUT, for me, as president, it is of much greater interest and importance to prevent an evil empire, Iran, from getting nuclear weapons and destroying the Middle East and indeed the world. I will never allow that to happen!”
While the United States is the world’s largest producer of crude oil, prices are influenced by global markets and supply chains, and some products come from refineries abroad.
Rising gas prices pose a political liability for Trump as the primaries have begun ahead of the November midterm elections, when his Republican allies will defend their slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Democrats have placed cost-of-living concerns at the center of their pitch to voters, and routinely criticize Trump for carrying out hostilities against Iran that they say fail to fulfill his campaign promise to lower prices.
“President Trump should end this stupid war now and lower gas prices for the American people,” Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman from Virginia, said in response to Trump’s post.
“However, fortunately for his big oil donors, Trump doesn’t care about the suffering at the pump as they are going to ‘make a lot of money.'”
