President Donald Trump’s tariffs and Iran war have sent the cost of gas soaring over the past eight months - and his supporters are paying for it.
The 10 states with the biggest increases in gas prices since the start of the war in late February all voted for Trump in the 2024 presidential election, including four of the five states where he had his biggest wins, according to data from motor club AAA.
Utah, where Trump won by more than 21 points, saw gas prices rise more than in any other state since the start of the war. A gallon of regular was $2.79 on February 26. On Thursday, it was $4.84 - a stunning 73.6 percent increase.
The next four states with the biggest increases were Wyoming, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Idaho. Trump’s average margin of victory in those states was 29.5 points.
Frustration is mounting among Republican voters in deep-red states as gas prices push up cost-of-living and have spurred an affordability crisis.
“Obviously wars don’t help,” Kristen Slaven, 41, a mental health therapist who lives in Gluckstadt, Mississippi, and typically votes Republican, told The Associated Press. “When they’re necessary, I understand. But our focus on renaming bodies of water and pieces of land, that’s just stupid to me when people can’t feed their family.”
Gas prices have risen 51.2 percent in states where Trump won in 2024 and 44.1 percent where he lost, according to the data from AAA.
The president has tried to downplay inflation and its impact on the average consumer. At times, he has denied the country is dealing with inflation at all.
“We don't have inflation,” Trump said Thursday at a campaign speech in Montana.
Federal data says otherwise. Inflation hit a three-year high of 4.2 percent in May before cooling to 3.4 percent in July and August. In September, however, it ticked up to 3.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While prices for dairy products such as milk, ice cream and cheese fell 0.2 percent year-on-year, other key areas were elevated, the bureau reported.
Gas rose 34.9 percent year on year; shoes and clothing were up 3.4 percent and groceries and dining out were up 2.5 percent.
With additional reporting from The Associated Press
Read MoreTrump’s tariffs and Iran war will make toys more expensive this holiday season
Americans face another painful blow to mortgages and credit cards
Head of Social Security says the program will be around for another 90 years
Trump’s Iran war just led gas prices to a dreadful new record
What the ‘Walmart effect’ is warning about the US economy
Breaking Bad actor’s barbecue restaurant files for bankruptcy
