Let’s talk about gas prices for a second. A year ago, gas was around $3 per gallon nationally, according to data provided by the American Automobile Association (AAA). The Russia-Ukraine war posed challenges for oil, but prices were also impacted by Pandemic-related headwinds and other factors.
However, as the U.S., led by President Donald Trump, conducted a joint operation with Israel to strike Iran in late February this year, it resulted in the death of its former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a new headwind emerged.
The strike eventually led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway off the coast of Iran and the UAE that was responsible for a fifth of the global oil supply in 2025.
Since then, U.S. gasoline and diesel prices have climbed sharply, with gasoline reaching record highs for this time of year. Oil prices, too, continue to rise in the global markets and uncertainty looms over fossil fuels.
Amid the energy shocks negatively impacting American household bills, Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management co-founder Ross Gerber, in his recent conversation with Benzinga, says that President Donald Trump’s policies may be hurting his supporter base.
Trump’s Supporters Don’t Drive EVs
Gerber said that most of Trump’s supporters were gasoline vehicle owners while “liberals drive EVs,” and that it was Trump’s voter base who were “paying the most” for fuel.
“This is the irony of Trump as he’s destroying his own people, but not us here in California who have alternatives [to gasoline],” Gerber said. The investor, who has been a vocal advocate for Clean Energy, said that he urges consumers every day to make the switch to EVs so that oil shocks do not have such a huge impact on spending.
Gerber also pointed out that economics “drive consumer behavior a lot more than policy,” when asked about the administration’s stance on EVs and its multiple pro-fossil fuel decisions.
“The cost of living in the United States and, for that matter, in the world has gone up substantially because of energy costs,” the investor said. He added that higher prices, with gas above $6 in California, would force people to look for alternatives to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles.
Climate Crisis Needs ‘Cohesive’ Policy Shift
“Part of me is really excited about this period of time because I care about the environment,” he said, hinting that maybe the rising costs could force an energy sector shift.
“I think energy should be expensive,” he added, saying that energy shocks were also causing a hike in food prices, but the investor lamented the lack of EV options in hauling and food transport.
“We sell a lot of food here in California,” he said, adding that the cost of transportation of food was higher due to Trump’s policies, which were “forcing food prices higher.”
Still, the investor expressed optimism about the upcoming midterm elections in November. “I think America is tired of these policies and is gonna vote for change,” he said.
“Although they [the Trump administration] are trying to subvert our democracy, they will not be successful because his own people are the people who want change,” he said.
However, the investor acknowledged the need for a “cohesive” policy change. “It’s affecting the world in a very, very negative way, more and more each year. It’s affected me dramatically in my life, being a survivor of the Palisades fire,” he said.
Domestic Manufacturing
Our conversation with the investor then shifted towards the administration’s domestic manufacturing policies, which the White House touts as a move that would bring car prices down, something also echoed by Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
However, Gerber expressed discontentment with the domestic push, offering a different view on domestic manufacturing and the administration’s crackdown on immigration.
“Manufacturing things in America doesn’t make things cheaper, okay? Not when you’re deporting 50,000 people a month who build cars and make food,” he said, adding that the U.S. did not have a sizable population that could join the workforce.
Ross Gerber Disagrees With Trump’s Crackdown on Immigration
“We have immigration. That’s the secret to America’s success,” he said. “Ever since we started, we created this sales pitch to people in the world that if you came to America, you would have opportunity that you wouldn’t have in your country,” the investor added.
Gerber said that the promise of a better life, as well as the promise of opportunity, has “been true for 250 years.” He opined that “America’s success” was built because of immigrants, “including my family and my partners and everybody else because none of us are native Americans,” he said.
Cracking down on immigration is also taking out America’s “growth engine,” he said. Gerber dismissed the idea that “poor people coming on a boat with nothing have nothing to contribute” to society, saying that immigration could offer the U.S. its future scientists and doctors as well.
“The immigrants that come to this country with nothing are the ones that built America, okay? Including my relatives,” he said. The investor did acknowledge Trump’s “protectionism” moves and making companies open factories in the U.S., but “if you don’t have labor, then you have inflation.” He then called Trump’s “America first” concept an “abject failure.”
Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link.
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