President Donald Trump is turning his attention toward energy companies, demanding that gasoline retailers lower prices as oil markets cool and drivers continue paying more at the pump than many expected.
Trump accused gas retailers of “totally illegal” price gouging in a post on Truth Social Monday and called on companies to immediately reduce prices.
“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote.
He argued that crude oil prices had dropped significantly and said consumers should see faster relief.
“They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south,” Trump wrote. “The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!”
Trump warned that if prices did not come down, there would be consequences.
“If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!” he wrote.
The president also criticized fuel taxes, particularly in California, arguing that state policies were contributing heavily to what consumers pay. “California should stop charging such heavy Taxes on their Gasoline,” Trump wrote. “Soon the Tax will be higher than the Product itself.”
Gas prices have fluctuated significantly amid global instability, including the conflict involving the United States and Iran earlier in the year. Oil markets saw prices rise as concerns grew over disruptions to global supply routes, including the Strait of Hormuz.
The national average price for gasoline was recently around $3.86 per gallon after reaching higher levels in previous months.
Trump said last week that his administration was looking into why lower oil prices had not translated into cheaper gasoline. “It’s ExxonMobil, it’s Chevron, it’s, uh, Shell, it’s, uh, BP, it’s a lot of ’em,” Trump said. “The gasoline, or the oil prices, have come down so much, and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison to what it should be.”
“We should be, in my opinion, at $2.25 right now at the pump,” he added.
Chevron CFO Eimear Bonner said recently that consumers may have to wait before lower oil prices fully reach gas stations. “There is a lag between, you know, oil prices and reductions in oil prices and when that shows up at the pump,” Bonner said.
Here’s the thing about gas prices: Americans don’t experience “global energy markets” in some abstract spreadsheet.
They experience them every time they pull into a gas station and watch the numbers spin.
That’s why this issue gets people fired up.
The average driver doesn’t care about a corporate earnings call or a Wall Street explanation. They care about whether filling up the tank feels like a small expense or a second mortgage payment.
And this is where Trump’s style drives the establishment absolutely crazy. He doesn’t send out a 40-page memo written by twelve consultants. He goes straight to the companies and says: fix it. “DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE!” That’s the kind of line that drives critics nuts because it’s not wrapped in the usual political language.
Now, the energy business is complicated. Oil prices, refining capacity, transportation costs, taxes, regulations — all of it plays a role. Nobody with a brain thinks the president can simply snap his fingers and make every pump display a magic number.
But there’s also a fair question sitting right in front of consumers: If oil prices go up quickly, why do gas prices seem to follow immediately — but when oil prices drop, the relief arrives like it’s traveling by horse and buggy?
That’s the frustration. For years, Americans have been told to accept higher prices as inevitable. Higher groceries. Higher energy bills. Higher everything. Then someone finally says, “Wait a minute. Are we sure there isn’t something else going on?” And suddenly everybody wants to explain why people shouldn’t ask questions.
