Gas prices in Michigan, which rose as peace talks and oil tankers remained halted in the Mideast, have climbed back up to $4.25 a gallon and the president, essentially, is now telling Americans to suck it up.
Gas prices at the pump in Michigan on Monday, Aug. 17, have risen in a week an average of 11 cents a gallon, according to AAA, which tracks prices at thousands of stations throughout the state, and are more than $1 a gallon from a year ago, before the U.S. launched a war against Iran.
The cost of gasoline and its effect on the economy, as rising fuel prices boost inflation, is an issue in the upcoming midterm elections with officials and candidates expressing concern. In addition, the war, now in its fifth month, has lasted much longer than
President Donald Trump initially said it would.
Still, Trump said last week that paying "a tiny bit more" for gasoline was the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" doesn’t have a nuclear weapon. He acknowledged gas was at least $4 a gallon, but emphasized he would "never apologize" for it because, he said, he "did the right thing."
At the same time, reports also are circulating that service members' morale is low.
Throughout Michigan, the most expensive average gas prices on Sunday were in Ann Arbor, $4.33 a gallon; Jackson, $4.33; and Lansing, $4.32. The least, in Marquette, $4.05; Traverse City, $4.19; and metro Detroit, $4.23.
"The relief Michigan drivers experienced last week was short-lived, as pump prices have reversed course and climbed by double digits," Adrienne Woodland, a spokeswoman for AAA, said, urging frustrated motorists to offset prices by driving less and “comparing gas prices before filling up."
Gas prices could go even higher
Candidates and elected officials have been wrestling with high gas prices since Trump launched air strikes against Iran, and fuel costs have been a popular subject on Sunday political news shows. This past Sunday, Republican Rep. Mike Flood from Nebraska remarked that they were "too high."
And as crude oil prices rose Monday, trading internationally at almost $90 a barrel, they could go higher.
The cost of fuel, Flood said, is "something that every single person talks about in my district and across the country," during an appearance on "The Hill Sunday." The lawmaker was asked by the host to explain Trump’s remarks that paying the gas prices was "part of a patriotic duty to help protect the world."
Meanwhile, news outlets also are raising doubts about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Under the headline, “How a false nuclear claim about Iran ricocheted from India to Washington,” the New York Times reported on Sunday how “a dubious post that spread on X became the basis of false claims that Iran’s leadership had declared it a nuclear power.”
“It was not true,” the report said, adding there’s no evidence "Iran has developed nuclear weapons."
Trump ran for president on promises to lower gas prices and "no new wars." During his State of the Union address, he claimed credit for gas prices that were less than $2 a gallon. But in June, he backtracked on his no-war commitment, denying on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he ever made that pledge, telling the host he "didn’t guarantee no war."
Energy crisis, security threats
Meanwhile, the world is facing an energy crisis as well as increased threats to the U.S., not just in the Middle East but through potential terrorism – and his own security, which reportedly led to a catering truck ruse that took Trump off one plane and onto another.
And, USA TODAY reported earlier this month, the Pentagon has asked defense industry leaders “to speed production of weapons, including those that experts say were heavily depleted during the U.S. war on Iran.”
The report said Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg asked firms in a memo to "drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules” and “dramatically accelerate our program schedules and expand our production capacity now."
And on Friday at the rally, Trump said he planned to declare the Hormuz Strait "a territory of the United States," and, earlier in the day, in response to a reporter’s question about the USS Lincoln, denied that families are concerned about the conditions on the aircraft carrier.
The ship is leaving the Middle East after an extended deployment, and the families of those aboard said their loved ones have told them about problems, including eroding morale and thoughts of suicide. The Lincoln, Trump confirmed, is set to be replaced in the Mideast with another carrier, the USS George Washington.
Democratic U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said on social media her office has heard from Michigan families worried about what their loved ones who have raised concerns.
"These sailors are doing everything we ask of them, thousands of miles from home, with no clear return date and under incredibly difficult circumstances," she posted on X. "Making sure they have enough food, basic necessities, and safe living conditions is the bare minimum."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: As gas prices go up in Michigan, president urges people to pay it
