Since the launch of the war with Iran almost eight months ago, the American president Donald Trump has struggled to contain soaring energy costs, undermining Republicans’ attempt to maintain control of Congress in the midterm elections next week.
Low gas prices were a key campaign pledge for Trump during his second presidential campaign. But the energy crisis caused by the war led him to look for solutions and promise that things would improve.
The cost of crude oil – the main ingredient in gasoline and diesel – is volatile as markets and consumers feel a whiplash from uncertainty over the future of war. Meanwhile, households I feel more stressedwith concerns over the cost of living at the forefront of many voters’ minds as Election Day, November 3, approaches.
As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.29, up from $2.98 before the war. Diesel exceeded $6 last month – a record – and now stands at an average of $6.35 per gallon, up from $3.76 in February.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that more expensive fuel is a small price to pay for the war, which he describes as necessary to prevent Iran from obtain a nuclear weapon. He also continued to blame his predecessor, the former president Joe Bidenfor the country economic problems. And the president tried to present the global oil crisis as good news for American production.
‘We’re making a fucking fortune,’ Trump told supporters during an election rally in Georgia this weekend.
Here’s how Trump’s views on gas, oil and other energy costs have changed since the war began.
February 24: Gasoline prices “falling rapidly”
Trump bragged about gas prices in his speech State of the Union Address 2026just days before joining Israel to launch the February 28 attacks on Iran.
“Gasoline, which peaked over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor and was, quite frankly, a disaster, is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places $1.99 a gallon,” he said. “And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline, the lowest in four years, and falling rapidly.”
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $2.95 a gallon nationwide, about 19 cents lower than a year earlier.
March 12: “When oil prices go up, we make a lot of money”
Trump saw a glimmer of hope as oil prices soar less than two weeks after the start of the war.
“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices rise, we make a lot of money,” he posted on his social media site Truth Social.
THE PRICE OF OIL: Brent crude costs more than $100 a barrel, compared to around $70 in 2025.
June 29: “Gasoline retailers must lower their prices IMMEDIATELY!”
As oil prices fell on hopes for peace in early summer, Trump expressed his frustration that gas prices were not falling any faster.
“They are too high given that oil is now $68 a barrel and heading south,” he posted on social media. “Retailers need to act quickly on this statement and do what they know is right: lower your prices for our great American people! There will be no gauging, which is completely illegal. If retailers don’t do this, big trouble awaits us!”
AT THE PUMP: The national average for gasoline was $3.86 a gallon, down from more than $4.50 in May, but still about 67 cents higher than a year ago.
July 1: Prices will “soon return” to record levels
On the eve of the July 4 holiday, Trump claimed that lower gas prices were in sight.
“As I promised, oil prices are falling FAST and gas prices at the pump are also falling, but not as fast as they should be,” he wrote online, as he anticipated price reductions. some “Freedom Fuel” stations near Philadelphia. “Gas prices will soon return to the record prices Americans enjoyed at the pump before our highly successful “excursion” to Iran.
THE PRICE OF OIL: Amid broader peace hopes, Brent crude fell to $71.57 a barrel from its triple-digit highs.
September 9: Oil prices will fall “just after” the midterm elections
In early September, Trump said that he didn’t think oil prices would go down before the midterm elections.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to fall,” Trump said at the time. “I think it’s going to take a little longer than the midterms.”
THE PRICE OF OIL: As fighting intensified once again, Brent crude rose above $101, up from $66 a barrel a year earlier.
September 16: More expensive gasoline is a ‘very cheap price to pay’
During a campaign stop in North Carolina, Trump continued to downplay soaring gas prices and again called the war necessary.
“You got a little bit more. It’s a very small price to pay for what we’ve done,” Trump said. “Remember that. It’s a little more. Honestly, although it was a lot more.”
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $4.37 per gallon, about $1.18 higher than they were at the same time in 2025.
October 9: Diesel prices will “fall in record numbers”
Earlier this month, Trump said he hit an agreement to buy Russian diesel to curb the surge in fuel prices – marking a clear reversal of years of American pressure on Moscow on his war with Ukraine. He also continued to assert that the United States retained control of the Strait of Hormuz, even though traffic remained well below prewar levels and under threat of further attacks from Tehran.
“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz and this big announcement on Russian energy, diesel prices for Americans and, indeed, the world, will FALL, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! » he wrote. “Lowering prices for Americans, especially our big farmers, ranchers and truckers, is my highest priority. »
THE COST OF DIESEL: The national average for diesel was $6.28 per gallon, down slightly from a high of nearly $6.53 in September.
October 19: Farmers to get additional relief ‘when Republicans win’
Trump announced his administration’s latest effort to offset high diesel costs: a new crop fuel assistance program, which he said would provide $8 billion in support to farmers.
“When the Republicans win, we will provide even more funding to our farmers,” Trump said. at a campaign rally in Kansaswhere he also asked the crowd to “please pretend I’m on the ballot.”
THE COST OF DIESEL: Nationally, diesel averaged about $6.32 per gallon, 74 percent more than a year earlier, when the fuel cost $3.63 per gallon.
October 24: “We are making money like this country has never made before”
Over the weekend, Trump once again asserted that the war in Iran means profits for the US oil and gas sector, saying the country is “making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what happened in the Middle East.”
“My people said, ‘Please don’t mention that, sir, because people are paying a little more,'” the president said Saturday at a campaign rally in Georgia, adding that he could already see “fake news” about consumers still suffering from higher prices. “But I said I don’t care. I’m going to say it. We’re making a fucking fortune. Our country is getting stronger all the time. And those prices at the pump are going to go down.”
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged nearly $4.30 per gallon nationwide Saturday. A year ago, drivers paid about $3.07.
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