President Donald Trump said on Monday that Ukraine’s bombing of Russian oil refineries and the energy policies of “blue states” are to blame for elevated gas prices, not the ongoing war with Iran.
“What’s driving up Gasoline is no longer the Strait of Hormuz, because Record Numbers of Barrels are coming out now on an almost daily basis, but the word, ‘Refineries,” where Russia’s are being blown up by Ukraine, and where ours are being closed up, in Blue States, like California, by the Dumocrats,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
As of Monday, the average cost of 1 gallon of unleaded fuel was more than $4.36, according to AAA. Prices are creeping down from the summer high of $4.47 per gallon, but are still more than a dollar higher than last year’s summer average. Diesel gasoline prices are even higher compared to last year’s benchmarks, with a gallon costing drivers $6.32 as of Monday morning.
Trump and top aides have been hyper-focused on elevated gas prices for months, as Iran continues to resist the president’s military and economic campaigns.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News Monday morning that the president would make an “announcement” on the topic during a trip to Nebraska Monday evening.
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White House officials declined to comment on the exact details of Trump’s announcement, but reports indicate that he plans to order the Treasury Department to review certain taxes on diesel gasoline and boost the availability of some tax-exempt fuels for use in the agriculture and transportation sectors.