President Donald Trump, on Tuesday, warned that deterring Iran’s nuclear capabilities would take precedence over rising gas prices, signalling they would be coming down once the war was over, leading to widespread criticism.
Trump Signals Oil Prices Could Stay High
In a press briefing at the White House, Trump said that rising gas prices were “peanuts” compared to Iran’s nuclear capabilities. He also said that he appreciated Americans putting up with high fuel costs “for a little while.”
He then said that ships were coming into Louisiana and Texas, as well as Alaska, to load up on oil. “But I don’t even think about that,” before reiterating that Iran can’t “have a nuclear weapon.”
JB Pritzker, GasBuddy Analyst, Slam Trump
Governor Jay Robert ‘JB’ Pritzker (D-IL) delivered sharp criticism of Trump following his comments via a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday.
“The President is out of touch and out of his mind,” Pritzker said, adding that Trump did not think about people’s finances. “He even thought gas prices would go up even more,” Pritzker said.
Meanwhile, GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan also criticized Trump via X, outlining that when gas prices fall, Trump takes credit, but when they rise, Trump says, “Why does everyone care so much?”
De Haan had earlier predicted that it would take global oil inventories over 78 weeks to recover from the supply chain shocks posed by the Strait of Hormuz’s closure as tensions escalate between the U.S. and Iran.
Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass), who is the Minority Whip in the House of Representatives, also slammed Trump following his comments about rising fuel costs.
“Families can’t afford Trump’s skyrocket gas prices,” Clark said, adding that the rising fuel prices were “peanuts” according to Trump. “Is he out of his mind?!” Clark questioned in her post on X.
Gas Prices Rise In The U.S.
The comments come as gas prices have been rising amid the Iran war. According to data from the American Automobile Association, the average national price for a gallon of gas was $4.533 on Tuesday, with California’s average being the highest in the country at $6.146/gallon.
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) had earlier urged Trump to work on lowering gas prices across the country, including California, but bettors on the prediction market platform Kalshi believed there was a more than 70% chance that prices could hit $7.40/gallon in the state before the year ends.
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