Trump promised to slash energy costs — but gasoline, diesel and jet fuel all soared instead — SkimNews
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- Trump promised in September 2024 to cut energy prices in half or more and bring gasoline below $2 a gallon within 12 months of taking office.
- GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said gas and diesel prices were forecast to be the highest ever on election day; Friday’s national gas average was $4.20, nearly 40% above a year earlier, while diesel reached $6.32, up about 70%.
- Iran retaliated to the Feb. 28 joint U.S.-Israeli attack with a wave of strikes on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, severely depressing oil flows; exports rebounded after the U.S. military helped ships through the strait.
- Trump considered a diesel export ban while Sen. Chuck Grassley lobbied for Iowa farmers but rejected it because it might also raise gasoline prices; he instead allowed tax-exempt, off-road diesel on U.S. highways and announced $8 billion in farmer relief.
- Trump struck a deal with Vladimir Putin for about 6 million barrels of Russian diesel through November; analysts said the volume was too small to meaningfully lower prices, while Volodymyr Zelenskyy and some Republican senators called it a reward for Russian aggression.
- White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said gasoline prices would drop drastically when the Iran conflict ends, while Trump called rising fuel prices a “small price to pay” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
- Brent crude rose more than 13% in October and WTI climbed 15%, with the market pricing the risk of another round of fighting after the midterms despite Trump’s pledge not to resume Iran strikes before voting.
Why it matters: Diesel is the sharper economic and political pressure point: at $6.32 a gallon, up about 70% year over year, it feeds transportation and agriculture costs as Iowa’s Senate race turns competitive. Trump’s $8 billion relief plan and order allowing tax-exempt off-road diesel on highways respond to the crunch; the Russian supply deal is too small to materially move prices.
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