Less Than 50 Days From The Election, Trump and House Republicans Think Record Gas Prices Are a “Very Inexpensive Price To Pay”

Why high gas prices are not a 'small price to pay' as Trump says

President Donald Trump says high gas prices are a “small price to pay” for the ongoing war on Iran. Here's why that's not true for most Americans.

Less Than 50 Days From The Election, Trump and House Republicans Think Record Gas Prices Are a “Very Inexpensive Price To Pay”

As gas prices near $4.50/gal and diesel prices record highs nearing $6.50/gal each day, Trump and House Republicans have a message for hardworking families: deal with it. Trump again called the backbreaking price hikes a “very inexpensive price to pay,” despite continued pleas from Americans filling up their cars, tractors, and grocery carts to end […]

Fox Repeatedly Told Viewers High Gas Prices Were Temporary

Media Matters did the math. On September 8, it found that Fox News and Fox Business figures told viewers that higher gas prices were a small and short-term problem at least 188 times since Trump acted on his whim to start a war with Iran. “They’ve claimed repeatedly that soaring prices were temporary and would come back to Earth as soon as some constantly shifting goal was achieved,” Media Matters reported. It wasn’t just Fox. Media Matters caug…

Gas and diesel prices are soaring. Right-wing media figures promised that wouldn't happen.

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, right-wing media have attempted to downplay, dismiss, and deflect from the resulting pain at the pump, including by repeatedly claiming that elevated prices would be temporary. Some right-wing media personalities have even gone so far as to predict exactly when prices would fall back to prewar levels or to speculate about precisely what deadlines prices would need to drop by in order…

Trump Says $4.43 Gas Is a ‘Very Inexpensive Price to Pay’ for Iran War as Fuel Costs Surge

President Donald Trump said Americans should view sharply higher gasoline prices as a relatively small cost of the U.S. war with Iran, arguing that preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon justified the financial burden motorists are facing at the pump. Trump made the remarks Wednesday during a rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, as the national average price for regular gasoline continued climbing above $4.40 per gallon. By Thursday, AAA put the nationwide average at $4.43 — 16 cents higher than a week earlier and more than $1 above the level one year ago. “You have a little higher, you have a higher. It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done. Remember that it’s a little more. It’s even if it was, frankly, even if it was a lot more, but that’s gonna come tumbling down. That’s gonna be like a rocket ship in reverse,” Trump said. The President has repeatedly argued that the economic consequences of the conflict must be weighed against what he describes as the danger posed by Iran’s nuclear program. The war has now stretched beyond six months, despite Trump’s earlier expectations that the fighting would end considerably sooner. On Wednesday, he said, “hopefully we are towards the end,” while indicating that Washington remained open to renewed diplomacy with Tehran. The rise in gasoline prices has become one of the most visible domestic consequences of the conflict. AAA said Thursday that regular gasoline was averaging $4.43 nationally, approaching the 2026 high of $4.56 recorded on May 21. The organization attributed the latest increase to elevated crude prices and continued volatility surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel prices have risen even more dramatically. The national diesel average reached nearly $6.40 per gallon Thursday, according to AAA data cited by CNN, increasing transportation costs for trucking and other industries that rely heavily on diesel fuel. Oil markets have been shaken repeatedly by developments across the Middle East. Brent crude was trading at approximately $104 per barrel early Friday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude stood near $101.20. Prices eased somewhat after reports that Saudi Arabia was moving to restore part of the capacity of its damaged East-West pipeline, but concerns remain over regional shipping and oil supplies. The Strait of Hormuz has been particularly important to the surge. Disruptions and threats to shipping through the waterway, one of the world’s most important oil transit routes, have tightened supplies and added a substantial geopolitical premium to crude prices. Iran has also continued military operations in the area; Iranian state media reported Friday that the Revolutionary Guards struck a tanker attempting to pass through the strait. The conflict has also expanded beyond direct U.S.-Iran fighting. Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have intensified operations near another critical shipping route, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has further increased concerns about the security of regional energy infrastructure. Trump has maintained that the higher prices will eventually reverse sharply. At Wednesday’s rally, he compared the expected decline to “rocket ships in reverse,” continuing a series of assurances from the White House that the current energy-price spike will not be permanent. The President’s comments come as Americans are paying considerably more for fuel than they were before the war. AAA reported that Thursday’s $4.43 average was up from $4.27 just one week earlier and from $4.14 at the beginning of September. The organization said crude oil was averaging around $100 per barrel, compared with prices in the $90 range earlier in the month. The higher energy costs have also become a political issue heading toward November’s midterm elections. A Marquette Law School poll released this week found that 20% of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of gasoline prices and 19% approved of his handling of inflation and the cost of living. The White House, however, continues to defend the military campaign. Administration officials say the conflict has inflicted substantial damage on Iran and its economy and argue that military and economic pressure is necessary to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has long denied that it seeks such a weapon. Outside experts have disputed some of the administration’s assessments of the Iranian nuclear threat and say Iran continues to possess a stockpile of highly enriched uranium despite U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities. Trump has nevertheless continued to suggest that an end to the fighting could be approaching. “Hopefully we are towards the end,” he told reporters Wednesday. For American motorists, however, the immediate reality remains substantially higher prices at the pump. With regular gasoline approaching this year’s national peak and diesel at record levels, Trump is asking Americans to accept those costs as part of the broader campaign against Iran — describing them as “a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done.” {Matzav.com}