Donald Trump's Energy Secretary Chris Wright spoke to CNN about gas prices two months before the midterms, initially saying he didn't want to have an opinion on whether they would go up or down, but then guessing they might decrease. Wright cited a drop in futures market prices as evidence, saying gasoline can be bought for over 30 cents less per gallon two months in advance than today. The current national average fuel price is $4.147 per gallon, according to AAA, and has been above $3 on average since the start of the year due to tensions with Iran. Wright was unable to say whether the Iranian seizure and attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz were no longer a concern for global energy markets.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Donald Trump’s energy chief hesitated to say whether gas prices would go up or down, with the midterms only two months away.
asserted
prices → hesitate → midterms
Then, he cautiously said he thought they would go down, after saying that he “didn’t want to have an opinion” on whether the national average fuel price would continue to hover around $4 a gallon for the fall.
asserted
price → say → fall
“Look, I don't want to have an opinion on that, but if you look at the futures market right now, what can you buy gasoline for two months in advance from where we are today, it’s down more than 30 cents a gallon from where it is today,” Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday.
asserted
Wright → look → advance
Wright spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union and claimed that the end of the summer travel season would decrease demand enough to lower gas prices around the country, or at least in states where elected officials are following the administration’s lead and loosening gasoline blending requirements.
asserted
officials → speak → requirements
Right now, AAA reports that the average price of gas is $4.147 per gallon in the United States.
asserted
price → report → States
Gas prices have been more than a dollar higher on average since the beginning of the year, when the president launched a war with Iran that has become increasingly unpopular with even his own voters.
asserted
that → launch → voters
Trump has repeatedly insisted that Americans are buying gas for well below that amount as he seeks to prevent a Republican electoral bloodbath in the midterm elections.
asserted
he → insist → elections
In the same interview, Wright could not say that the actual cause of higher gas prices — the Iranian seizure and attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz — was no longer an issue.
uncertain
cause → say → Hormuz
Asked by CNN whether merchant ships traversing the strait were safe, Wright contended that any who coordinated with the U.S. Navy would be able to safely cross the waterway.
asserted
who → ask → waterway
A majority of the world’s oil supply moves through the Strait of Hormuz.
asserted
majority → move → Hormuz
The Navy has been escorting a limited number of vessels through the strait for weeks, using a channel close to the Omani coastline.
asserted
Navy → escort → coastline
“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last week, signaling that negotiations between Washington and Tehran were not taking place.
asserted
negotiations → try → place
“I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement.”
asserted
they → care → agreement
“I like our position now much better, with almost total control of the Hormuz Strait, and their economy totally collapsing,” the president added.
asserted
president → like → Strait
“They are just playing out the inevitable.”
asserted
They → play → inevitable
The restrictions on free transit continue to reduce the number of tankers able to cross the strait every day, meaning that pressures on the global energy market remain in place as long as only partial use of the waterway is feasible.
asserted
use → continue → waterway
Some companies are still refusing to coordinate with the U.S. Navy, and even more view the risks as untenable even with U.S. support, citing deadly drone and mine attacks on vessels.
asserted
more → refuse → vessels
Several have been struck by mines or drones even while traveling the Omani passage with U.S. escorts.
asserted
Several → strike → escorts
Bash, noting that August was the deadliest month for commercial shipping crews operating in the Strait of Hormuz since shortly after the conflict began, asked Wright if he could guarantee that merchant vessels would soon be able to travel the strait safely.
uncertain
vessels → note → strait
“We’re working cooperatively with fleets that do want to transit,” Wright claimed, while admitting the strait’s traffic was not at “pre-conflict levels.”
asserted
traffic → work → levels
More than a dozen civilians have died on attacks against merchant vessels and ports since the conflict began in February.
asserted
conflict → die → February
He was then pressed by Bash to answer the question, and said: “Well, if they want to work with the U.S. Navy, I think they can.
asserted
they → press → Navy
Look, we're trying to end a 47 year conflict, as Iran dashes to develop nuclear weapons, and wreak havoc on their neighbors, and threaten the world economy.”
asserted
Iran → look → economy
Vice President JD Vance said at a press briefing this past week that the administration hadn’t seen any evidence to suggest that Iran was reconstituting its nuclear program after strikes the U.S. launched in late February and early March.
asserted
U.S. → say → February
Experts have questioned whether Iran even attempted to do so after U.S. strikes hit those same sites last year.
asserted
strikes → question → sites
