California Governor Gavin Newsom has trolled President Donald Trump as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pup after the United States lifted sanctions on Russian oil during the Iran war.
As oil prices hit $100 a barrel again Thursday since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran nearly two weeks ago, the Treasury Department said it would allow countries to purchase Russian oil “currently stranded at sea.”
In response to the Treasury Department’s announcement, Newsom’s press office shared an AI-generated image of Putin walking Trump like a dog. Trump is depicted lying on his stomach with a leash attached to him that Putin is holding.
When announcing the new move on X Thursday night, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump is “taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low as we address the threat and instability posed by the terrorist Iranian regime.”
He said the “short-term measure…will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”
Earlier Thursday, the Iran war surged oil prices back to about $100 per barrel after jumping to nearly $120 a barrel Monday.
The uncertainty in the oil markets can be linked to the action, or rather inaction, in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway in the Middle East that carries around a fifth of the world’s oil. Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to attack any ships that attempt to pass through.
The Trump administration has already allowed India to buy Russian oil until April 4 and announced plans to tap into U.S. oil reserves to curb rising gas prices.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced Wednesday the U.S. will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting next week.
Newsom has recently gained more prominence by poking fun at the Trump administration online as a way of criticizing its agenda. During a spat about each other’s cognitive fitness Wednesday, Newsom called Trump a “brain-dead moron who bombs children,” seemingly referring to the February 28 strike on a girls’ school in Iran that reportedly killed some 175 people, most of whom were children.
A preliminary Pentagon report found the U.S. was responsible for the unintentional bombing, per a report published byThe New York Times Wednesday, citing U.S. officials and others familiar with the findings.
As the Iran war drags on with no set end date, the U.S. is moving to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The military announced Tuesday it had destroyed mine-laying ships near the Strait of Hormuz following reports of Iran planning to or already deploying mines in the waterway.
Bessent also told Sky News Thursday the Navy or maybe an international coalition could escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict.
“There are, in fact, tankers coming through now, Iranian tankers, I believe some Chinese flag tankers have come through. So we know that they have not mined the straits,” the treasury secretary said.
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