Donald Trump has again insisted that gas prices must come down now that a fragile memorandum of understanding has been signed with Iran.
The president has repeatedly called for the cost of gas to go down in recent weeks, after the war he began with Israel at the end of February sent prices soaring.
“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Monday.
“They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south. The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right – DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal.
“If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead! Start targeting around the $2.50 a Gallon number, and California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline.
“Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself, and the United States will not stand for it, nor will the People of California, who are being abused by these ridiculous Taxes, and by their own Government.”
Gas prices have started to come down over the last month, since the tensions with Tehran eased and tankers were again allowed to pass through the key shipping route the Strait of Hormuz.
The national average price per gallon hit $3.86 Monday and dropping further to $3.85 Tuesday morning, according to the AAA. The figure is projected to drop again to $3.75 moving into the Fourth of July weekend, but this is still some way short of the $2.50 price-point being demanded by Trump.
The national average stood at $2.98 on February 28, the day the U.S. and Israel launched their opening airstrikes against Iran, which ultimately caused fuel prices to shoot up past $4 by April when the Middle Eastern state shut down the Strait, blocking the passage of one-fifth of the world’s oil through the Persian Gulf.
The average had hit $4.39 by late May before gradually beginning to come back down, but not before American drivers had been forced to spend an extra $59 billion at the pump.
Trump brushed the problem aside by arguing that stopping Iran from building nuclear weapons was of greater importance.
Last week the president accused U.S. oil companies of price-gouging and threatened to have the Department of Justice investigate their practices.
“The big Oil Companies are not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,” he wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.
“Those prices are dropping like a rock! In other words, customers are being ‘gouged.’ I have instructed the DOJ to immediately start looking into this. Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I’m seeing!”
The president is not the only member of his administration to have sought to blame others for high prices.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum appeared on Fox News Monday and attempted to characterize the matter as a partisan issue, advising Americans who live in Democrat-run states to cross into red states to buy their gas because it is cheaper.
“Gas up in a red state,” Burgum advised Fox viewers. “On average nationally right now this weekend it’s 53 cents cheaper per gallon to fill up your car in a red state than it is in a blue state.”
While there are always regional variations in fuel prices and drivers in California have had to pay more than $5 a gallon for gas because of Trump’s war, the divide is not as clear cut as Burgum implies.
For instance, the average price in blue Virginia stands at just $3.69 as of Tuesday morning, according to the AAA, whereas it is $4.10 in red Idaho, a hike of more than 40 cents per gallon.
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