President Trump has shifted the blame for soaring fuel prices to Democratic-led states such as California and Ukraine, and has attacked Russian refineries.
As the US midterm elections approach, President Donald Trump is trying to shift the blame for soaring fuel prices from the US and Israel’s war against Iran to the Democratic Party and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries.
“It’s no longer the Strait of Hormuz that’s driving up gas prices, because record barrel numbers are being announced almost every day. The word ‘refinery.’ Russian refineries are being blown up by Ukraine, and our refineries are being shut down by Democrats in blue states like California,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
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Although President Trump has blamed the surge on domestic refinery closures, the reality is that daily exports through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen 97% since the war began, disrupting global supplies.
Gasoline prices continue to rise for consumers. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily gasoline prices, the average price for a gallon (3.79 liters) was $4.36, up from $4.14 the previous month and $2.98 on February 28, when the United States and Israel first attacked Iran.
Rachel Ziemba, senior adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Al Jazeera: “While the ongoing conflict with Iran and the wars between Russia and Ukraine are mutually reinforcing and hurting oil product markets, the flow in the Middle East is far from normal.”
On Friday, G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency stockpiles following pressure from the White House. Meanwhile, U.S. strategic oil reserves have reached their lowest level since 1982.
“The US has told some (European Union) member states to release ‘strategic reserves’ or face a potential US diesel export ban, and is pushing France and Germany to do the same, resulting in a significant drop in oil prices and gasoline and diesel futures,” Patrick DeHaan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy, said in a post on X.
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Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure are also pushing up prices, especially of diesel fuel. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense claimed on Sunday that it had shut down more than half of Russia’s oil refining capacity.
“While damage to Russian refineries and the risk of further US sanctions on those processing Russian oil have exacerbated the situation, the fundamental problem remains the volatile flow of crude oil from the Middle East, the increasing difficulty of exporting petroleum products, and the declining buffers in place,” Ziemba added.
The latest attack comes amid a string of attacks since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. Throughput at Russian refineries reached its lowest level in 20 years in June, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The analysis also found that diesel production has fallen by 30% in the past 18 months.
Trump has also blamed the price increases on refining cuts in Democratic-led states such as California, where two refineries have closed in the past year. The closure reduced the state’s refining capacity by 17 percent, creating a supply shortage, according to an S&P Global analysis.
But President Trump’s efforts to shift the blame to Democrats come ahead of consequential midterm elections that could shape the balance of power in Washington. At the same time, most Americans seem to blame President Trump for rising prices. A recent Associated Press-NORC poll found that 65% of Americans blame President Trump’s policies for high prices, and 61% said the U.S. economy is in worse shape than it was when Trump returned to office.
