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.
asserted
Trump → launch → elections
But the energy crisis spawned by the war has left him grasping for solutions and promising that things will get better.
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things → spawn → solutions
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.
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markets → feel → 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.
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concerns → feel → Nov.
Diesel surpassed $6 last month — a record — and now sits at an average of $6.35 a gallon, up from $3.76 in February.
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Diesel → surpass → 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.
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he → claim → weapon
He’s also continued to blame his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for the country’s economic problems.
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He → continue → problems
And the president has tried to frame the world’s oil squeeze as good news for U.S. production.
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president → try → production
“We’re making a freaking fortune,” Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Georgia over the weekend.
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Trump → make → weekend
Here’s how Trump’s views on gas, oil and other energy costs have shifted since the war began.
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war → ’ → gas
Feb. 24: Gasoline prices are ‘falling fast’
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prices → fall → ?
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.
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he → brag → places
"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.
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I → visit → years
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $2.95 a gallon nationwide, about 19 cents cheaper than a year earlier.
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prices → average → 2.95
March 12: ‘When oil prices go up, we make a lot of money’
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we → go → money
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.
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he → see → site
Brent crude cost over $100 a barrel, up from about $70 in 2025.
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crude → cost → 2025
June 29: ‘Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!’
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Retailers → get → Prices
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.
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he → cool → media
"The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!
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they → react → PEOPLE
If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!"
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problems → do → this
Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, Trump claimed that lower gas prices were in sight.
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prices → claim → 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.
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he → promise → Philadelphia
“Gas Prices will soon be back to the Record Low Prices Americans enjoyed at the pump before our very successful ‘excursion’ in Iran.”
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Americans → enjoy → Iran
Amid wider hopes for peace, Brent crude fell to $71.57 a barrel from its triple-digit highs.
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crude → fall → highs
Oil prices will come down ‘right after’ midterms
In early September, Trump said that he didn’t think oil prices would cool before the midterm elections.
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prices → come → elections
“Right after the election, oil prices are going to be tumbling downward,” Trump said at the time.
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Trump → go → time
“I think it’s going to take a little bit longer than the midterm.”
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it → think → midterm
As fighting once more escalated, Brent spiked past $101 compared with $66 a barrel a year earlier.
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Brent → fight → 66
Sept. 16: More expensive gas is a ‘very inexpensive price to pay'
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gas → pay → ?
At a North Carolina campaign stop, Trump continued to downplay surging gas prices and again described the war as necessary.
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Trump → continue → war
It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done,” Trump said.
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Trump → ’ → what
It’s a little more.
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It → ’ → ?
AT THE PUMP: Gasoline prices averaged $4.37 a gallon, about $1.18 more expensive than they were at the same time in 2025.
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they → average → 2025
Diesel prices will be ‘coming down, in record numbers’
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prices → come → numbers
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.
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he → say → 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.
uncertain
traffic → continue → 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.
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he → come → NUMBERS
Farmers will get more relief ‘when Republicans win’
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Republicans → get → relief
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.
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he → announce → farmers
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
