Even as ordinary Americans pay more at the pump, U.S. oil companies are getting richer, President Donald Trump said Saturday.
Speaking at a rally in Georgia, Trump said oil prices were “temporarily high” but added that the Strait of Hormuz restriction had driven oil buyers toward U.S. companies with operations in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
“The U.S. oil and gas industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said. “I don’t care, I’ll say it, we make a fucking fortune.”
Indeed, a second-quarter report this year from the Oil & Gas Journal, a trade publication, noted that “soaring crude prices linked to continued disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz” have generated huge profits for North American oil companies.
Year over year, a sample of 38 U.S. producers and refiners collectively increased their revenues by about $140 billion, the Oil & Gas Journal reported.
These benefits, however, are not exactly shared by the American public.
AAA reported that the average price of regular gasoline in the United States is now $4.29 per gallon. In February, a day before the United States and Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran, gas prices were at $2.98.
Diesel prices have also risen precipitously since the start of the US war against Iran. On Sunday, AAA reported that they were sitting at $6.35, down from $3.75 a day before the dispute began. Shipping companies rely on diesel to power their boats and trucks. Higher diesel costs are often passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Trump’s comments are unlikely to generate goodwill among a U.S. electorate facing an affordability crisis less than two weeks before the midterm elections. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent Sunday.
As the midterms approached, Trump took steps to lower gas prices.
On October 9, Trump announced that he had reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel, which has been heavily sanctioned since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. Analysts have warned the move could provide a lifeline for the Russian economy as the country seeks to bomb Ukraine into submission this winter.
“I just see the fake headlines: ‘President Trump talks about all the money they’re making while people are suffering at the pumps,'” Trump said at the Georgia rally. “That will be the title.”
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