Trump promised to slash energy costs — but gasoline, diesel and jet fuel all soared instead — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Trump promised in September 2024 to cut energy prices in half within 12 months of taking office and bring gasoline below $2 a gallon.
- Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said gasoline and diesel prices were forecast to be the highest ever on an election day; Friday’s gasoline average was $4.20, nearly 40% above a year earlier, while diesel had risen about 70% to $6.32.
- Iran retaliated after Trump and Israel’s Feb. 28 joint attack with a wave of strikes on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, severely depressing oil flows through the vital shipping route.
- Trump called rising fuel prices a “small price to pay” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon; the White House said inflation-adjusted gas prices were also higher around previous election days.
- Trump rejected a diesel export ban he had briefly considered under pressure from Sen. Grassley, citing its potential to raise gasoline prices; he then authorized tax-exempt off-road diesel on U.S. highways and announced $8 billion in relief for farmers.
- Putin agreed under a Trump deal to export about 6 million barrels of diesel into the global market through November; Zelenskyy and some Republican senators criticized the agreement, while analysts said the volume was too small to meaningfully affect prices.
- ExxonMobil posted huge profits from the disruptions, with CEO Darren Woods calling diesel the key economic crunch; airlines also hiked fares to cover jet fuel, their largest expense after labor.
Why it matters: For Iowa farmers, diesel at $6.32 a gallon is a political and operating squeeze. Trump rejected a diesel export ban, authorized tax-exempt off-road diesel and offered $8 billion in relief, but the Russian supply deal was too small to materially lower prices, leaving Republicans in a Senate race with a gap between his $2 promise and Election Day costs.
Ask SkimNews
