President Donald Trump has warned that gas prices may climb higher heading into the midterm elections after stalled peace talks between the U.S. and Iran drove oil above $100 per barrel.
During a Sunday interview with Fox News, the president was asked by host Maria Bartiromo whether the price of oil and gas will decrease before the midterms in November.
“I hope so, I mean I think so,” Trump responded. “It could be or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should be around the same.”
Since the Iran war erupted in late February, oil prices have jumped roughly 60 percent, pushing gas above $4 a gallon. On Monday, the average cost of a gallon of gas in the U.S. was $4.12, up from $3.18 one year ago, according to AAA. As a result of soaring energy prices, inflation rose by 3.3 percent year-over-year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed last week.
Some Republicans fear that rising prices could worsen the political blow in the midterms, which historically see the president’s party lose seats in Congress.
Oil prices briefly eased after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran last Tuesday. But when weekend peace talks broke down over the subject of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, prices rebounded above $100 a barrel.
The cost increases have been largely attributed to Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trade route through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes. On Sunday, after diplomatic negotiations faltered, Trump said that the U.S. would enforce its own blockade on the waterway. That blockade began Monday 10 a.m. ET.
“We’re not gonna let Iran make money on selling oil to people that they like and not people that they don’t like,” Trump told Fox News. “It’s gonna be all or none.”
He claimed that the strait would be open for tankers soon and that other countries would assist in clearing the passageway of Iranian mines.
“They’ll be able to use the strait in not too long a distance,” he told Bartiromo.
The president, 79, also said that the U.S., the largest producer of oil in the world, is doubling down on its export efforts. “We have boats pouring up to the United States,” Trump said. “They’ll be packed with the best oil you can get.”
Bartiromo questioned whether the U.S. blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the ramped up exports will be “enough” to lower the price of oil and gas.
“Eventually it’s gonna be lower,” the president said. “It might not happen initially, but it’s gonna go down.”
“Frankly the gas hasn’t gone up as much as I thought,” he added. “But even if it did, we have to stop this group of people…you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
The vast majority of Americans, 69 percent, are concerned about elevated gas and fuel prices as a result of the Iran war, according to a Pew Research Center survey April 7.
In recent weeks, Republican officials have warned that they could face serious electoral repercussions if energy prices remain high.
“The price of gas is always kind of a benchmark,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters last month. “I do think the fact that we’ve increased our supply here domestically will help ease it, but it’s something obviously we’ve got to pay attention to. And hopefully the operations in Iran … won’t be an extended situation.”
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“If you are a Republican and not concerned right now, you are stupid,” an unnamed House Republican told Politico. “Hopefully, we will square this away sooner than later.”
Multiple recent polls show that the Iran war lacks widespread support. A Reuters survey published March 31 found that 60 percent of Americans oppose the Middle East conflict. In a CBS News poll released over the weekend, 62 percent of respondents said Trump lacks a clear plan for war with Iran.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is one of the strongest backers of the Iran war, deflected when asked over the weekend whether the conflict will hurt Republicans in the midterms.
“I think President Trump is stopping a homicidal maniac regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and if you don’t treat them that way, you’ve missed a lot in the last 47 years,” Graham replied.
