Monday, CBS News, The New York Times and Washington Post all gleefully reported West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark, and Brent crude, the international benchmark, both jumped to nearly $120 a barrel signaling an economic calamity brought on by the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
CBS reported the average national cost of gas is now $3.48 per gallon, up 48 cents since last week and 58 cents from a month ago, according to data from AAA. The price of diesel, which has a tighter inventory than regular gas, has also skyrocketed, rising nearly 89 cents over the last week to $4.66 a gallon. Gas prices are currently highest in the Democrat states of California and Washington, where California drivers were paying an average of $5.20 per gallon, and Washington state, where gas hit $4.63 per gallon, the network reported breathlessly.
Democrats jumped on the surge in oil prices as early as last Sunday, arguing that it was an immediate consequence of the war in Iran that would inflame an affordability crisis.
“We’ve been saying for months that affordability is the No. 1 issue,” Representative Tom Suozzi, Democrat of New York, told the New York Times. “But this is a very real-life consequence of some of the actions being taken by the administration.”
“As Trump refuses to acknowledge Americans’ concerns with the war, prices at the pump are soaring and working families are being crushed by high prices at the grocery store,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement quoted by the New York Times.
On Sunday, even before oil prices surged briefly above $110 a barrel, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, was calling on the Trump administration to release oil from strategic reserves.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., released a video saying he plans to introduce a bill to suspend the federal gas tax to help alleviate rising costs related to the war.
“Families across Arizona are dealing with high costs on almost everything, and now gas prices are skyrocketing because Donald Trump started a war with Iran,” Kelly said in an emailed statement. “Arizona families shouldn’t pay the price for Donald Trump’s bad decisions. Suspending the federal gas tax would help bring prices down and give families some much needed relief.”
“Due to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice, gas prices have surged to their highest levels in years,” Mr. Schumer wrote on social media. “His response? ‘If they rise, they rise.’ He couldn’t care less.”
But then came the reality check.
Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday after President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would be over “very soon.”
Billionaire shipowner George Prokopiou sent at least five tankers through the Strait of Hormuz this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, in one of the boldest moves of his long shipping career as freight rates surged amid rising military tension in the Middle East. Since the conflict began, he has sent three crude tankers and two product carriers through the strait.
The White House also said it will provide insurance and secure naval escorts for ships transiting the strait, although a clear plan hasn’t yet emerged. On Tuesday, Trump vowed to hit Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it “does anything” to stop the flow of oil through the strait, according to a Truth Social post.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 11.28%, to settle at $87.80 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, sank 11.94%, to $83.45 per barrel. Those prices compare with around $73 and $67 respectively before the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
In a fiery Pentagon briefing yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth didn't hold back, slamming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for trying to undermine Operation Epic Fury just days into the mission.
Jeffries had the gall to publicly declare the strikes against Iran's terrorist regime would fail—despite having access to classified briefings showing early, decisive successes. Hegseth called it out plain and simple: "I've been through that movie before with the Democrats rooting AGAINST the country. Our generation saw that on the battlefields."
The way we see it the Democrats’ cheering for higher oil prices is the same tired playbook: cheer for America's enemies, undercut our troops, and pray for failure so they can score political points.
CBS reported the average national cost of gas is now $3.48 per gallon, up 48 cents since last week and 58 cents from a month ago, according to data from AAA. The price of diesel, which has a tighter inventory than regular gas, has also skyrocketed, rising nearly 89 cents over the last week to $4.66 a gallon. Gas prices are currently highest in the Democrat states of California and Washington, where California drivers were paying an average of $5.20 per gallon, and Washington state, where gas hit $4.63 per gallon, the network reported breathlessly.
Democrats jumped on the surge in oil prices as early as last Sunday, arguing that it was an immediate consequence of the war in Iran that would inflame an affordability crisis.
“We’ve been saying for months that affordability is the No. 1 issue,” Representative Tom Suozzi, Democrat of New York, told the New York Times. “But this is a very real-life consequence of some of the actions being taken by the administration.”
“As Trump refuses to acknowledge Americans’ concerns with the war, prices at the pump are soaring and working families are being crushed by high prices at the grocery store,” Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement quoted by the New York Times.
On Sunday, even before oil prices surged briefly above $110 a barrel, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic minority leader, was calling on the Trump administration to release oil from strategic reserves.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., released a video saying he plans to introduce a bill to suspend the federal gas tax to help alleviate rising costs related to the war.
“Families across Arizona are dealing with high costs on almost everything, and now gas prices are skyrocketing because Donald Trump started a war with Iran,” Kelly said in an emailed statement. “Arizona families shouldn’t pay the price for Donald Trump’s bad decisions. Suspending the federal gas tax would help bring prices down and give families some much needed relief.”
“Due to Donald Trump’s reckless war of choice, gas prices have surged to their highest levels in years,” Mr. Schumer wrote on social media. “His response? ‘If they rise, they rise.’ He couldn’t care less.”
But then came the reality check.
Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday after President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would be over “very soon.”
Billionaire shipowner George Prokopiou sent at least five tankers through the Strait of Hormuz this week, the Wall Street Journal reported, in one of the boldest moves of his long shipping career as freight rates surged amid rising military tension in the Middle East. Since the conflict began, he has sent three crude tankers and two product carriers through the strait.
The White House also said it will provide insurance and secure naval escorts for ships transiting the strait, although a clear plan hasn’t yet emerged. On Tuesday, Trump vowed to hit Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it “does anything” to stop the flow of oil through the strait, according to a Truth Social post.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 11.28%, to settle at $87.80 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, sank 11.94%, to $83.45 per barrel. Those prices compare with around $73 and $67 respectively before the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
In a fiery Pentagon briefing yesterday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth didn't hold back, slamming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for trying to undermine Operation Epic Fury just days into the mission.
Jeffries had the gall to publicly declare the strikes against Iran's terrorist regime would fail—despite having access to classified briefings showing early, decisive successes. Hegseth called it out plain and simple: "I've been through that movie before with the Democrats rooting AGAINST the country. Our generation saw that on the battlefields."
The way we see it the Democrats’ cheering for higher oil prices is the same tired playbook: cheer for America's enemies, undercut our troops, and pray for failure so they can score political points.
