Since launching the war with Iran nearly eight months ago, U.S. President Donald Trump has struggled to quell soaring energy costs, undermining Republicans' attempt to keep control of Congress in the midterm elections next week.
Low gas prices were a key campaign pledge during Trump’s second presidential run. But the energy crisis spawned by the war has left him grasping for solutions and promising that things will get better.
The cost of crude oil
— the main ingredient in gasoline as well as diesel — has been volatile as markets and consumers feel whiplash about uncertainty of the war's future. All the while, households are feeling more strain, with cost of living concerns at the top of many voters' minds going into Election Day on Nov. 3.
As of Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $4.29, up from $2.98 before the war. Diesel surpassed $6 last month — a record — and now sits at an average of $6.35 a gallon, up from $3.76 in February.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that more expensive fuel is small price to pay for the war, which he describes as necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He’s also continued to blame his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for the country’s economic problems. And the president has tried to frame the world’s oil squeeze as good news for U.S. production.
“We’re making a freaking fortune,” Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Georgia over the weekend.
Here’s how Trump’s views on gas, oil and other energy costs have shifted since the war began.
Trump bragged about gas prices in his 2026 State of the Union address, just days before joining Israel to launch the Feb. 28 attacks on Iran.
“Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor and was, quite honestly, a disaster, is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places $1.99 a gallon," he said. "And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline, the lowest in four years, and falling fast."
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $2.95 a gallon nationwide, about 19 cents cheaper than a year earlier.
Trump saw a silver lining as oil prices spiked less than two weeks into the war.
“The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money," he posted on his social media site Truth Social.
THE PRICE TAG ON OIL: Brent crude cost over $100 a barrel, up from about $70 in 2025.
As oil costs cooled amid hopes for peace earlier this summer, Trump expressed frustration that gas prices were not falling quicker.
“They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south,” he posted on social media. "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!"
AT THE PUMP: The national average for gasoline was $3.86 a gallon — down from over $4.50 in May, but still about 67 cents pricier than a year ago.
Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, Trump claimed that lower gas prices were in sight.
“Just as I promised, Oil Prices are plummeting FAST, and Gas Prices at the pump are dropping too, but not as fast as they should be,” he wrote online, as he anticipated discounts at some “Freedom Fuel” stations near Philadelphia. “Gas Prices will soon be back to the Record Low Prices Americans enjoyed at the pump before our very successful ‘excursion’ in Iran.”
THE PRICE TAG ON OIL: Amid wider hopes for peace, Brent crude fell to $71.57 a barrel from its triple-digit highs.
In early September, Trump said that he didn’t think oil prices would cool before the midterm elections.
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said at the time. “I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”
THE PRICE TAG ON OIL: As fighting once more escalated, Brent spiked past $101 compared with $66 a barrel a year earlier.
At a North Carolina campaign stop, Trump continued to downplay surging gas prices and again described the war as necessary.
“You have a little higher. It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done,” Trump said. “Remember that. It’s a little more. Frankly, even if it was a lot more.”
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $4.37 a gallon, about $1.18 more expensive than they were at the same time in 2025.
Earlier this month, Trump said he struck a deal to buy Russian diesel to tamp down a spike in fuel prices — marking a stark reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine. He also continued to claim the U.S. retained control of the Strait of Hormuz, despite traffic remaining well below pre-war levels amid threats of further attacks from Tehran.
“Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!" he wrote. "Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority.”
THE COST OF DIESEL: The national average for diesel was $6.28 a gallon, slightly down from a high of nearly $6.53 in September.
Trump announced his administration's latest effort to offset steep diesel costs: a new harvest fuel relief program, which he claimed would provide $8 billion in support for farmers.
“When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers," Trump said at a Kansas campaign rally, where he also asked the crowd to “pretend please that I’m on the ballot."
THE COST OF DIESEL: Nationwide, diesel averaged about $6.32 a gallon — 74% more expensive than a year earlier, when the fuel cost $3.63 a gallon.
