Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) stepped up his criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran on Tuesday, arguing that the president’s actions have fueled a global oil and gas price spike that’s hurting American families.
“Trump’s Iran war is costing Americans $1.5 billion more at the pump this week alone, and what are Americans getting in return? Not better roads. Not cleaner air. Just higher prices as corporations pocket the higher prices and cash in on Trump’s chaos,” Newsom, an early Democratic front-runner in the 2028 presidential race, said. “‘Drill Baby Drill’ was always a lie to enrich Trump’s Big Oil donors — not a strategy to keep prices low, because oil is a global good with a global price.”
Newsom criticized Trump for launching a war with “no plan to shield American families from the consequences.”
The outgoing governor also rebuked the Republican majority in Congress, accusing them of looking the other way as Americans bear the brunt of soaring energy costs.
The escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf is already impacting Californian motorists at the gas pump. Drivers in the state consistently pay some of the nation’s highest fuel prices, and the latest surge only reinforces this trend. California’s prices exceed those in other states due to steeper taxes and stringent regulations requiring cleaner, costlier gasoline that produces less pollution, a persistent issue for both the industry and consumers.
Fuel marketers, gas station owners, and some voters have blamed Newsom’s policies for their woes.
The average price for a gallon of regular now stands at $5.29, according to AAA. The average price was $4.67 a week ago. A month ago, it was $4.49. At a 76 gas station in Los Angeles, the price was $6.95 on Tuesday. By comparison, the national average sits at $3.53 per gallon.
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The primary reason gas prices in California are high is that refinery closures are reducing local supply while demand has remained high, Zachary Leary, chief lobbyist at the Western States Petroleum Association, told the Los Angeles Times.
“Geopolitical events … show and highlight how fragile it is here in California,” he said.