President Donald Trump on Monday attempted to refute his energy secretary’s headline-making remarks about high gas prices across the U.S.
Speaking to The Hill reporter Julia Manchester in a brief phone interview, Trump dismissed Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s assertion that the average gas price could stay above $3 a gallon through 2027.
“No, I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” the president said, Manchester wrote on X.
When Manchester pressed for further clarification as to when Americans can expect to see gas prices decrease, she said Trump added, “As soon as this ends,” alluding to the Iran war.
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Wright said the cost of gas had “likely peaked” across the U.S., but also acknowledged that it may be a while before drivers could start feeling some noticeable relief at the pump.
“I don’t know, that could happen later this year, that might not happen until next year,” he said. “Certainly with a resolution of this conflict, energy prices will go down.”
According to AAA, the current average across all 50 U.S. states is $4.04 for a gallon of gas. In February, it was about $2.90 a gallon, per Gasbuddy.
As Wright suggested, gas prices have surged across the U.S. and around the world since Feb. 28, when the U.S. launched its joint military operation with Israel in Iran.
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Since the war broke out, Iran has largely blocked foreign commercial traffic from the Strait of Hormuz, through which a portion of the world’s oil supply passes.
Both gas prices and the Iran war as a whole are being widely cited as contributing factors to Trump’s dwindling support among U.S. voters, including some members of his MAGA base. On Sunday, an NBC News Decision Desk poll found the president’s approval rating had sunk to 32%, a second-term low.
Not surprisingly, Trump blasted the poll’s results as “rigged” in a Monday post on his Truth Social platform.
“I watch and read the FAKE NEWS Pundits and Polls in total disbelief,” he wrote. “90% of what they say are lies and made up stories, and the polls are rigged, much as the 2020 Presidential Election was rigged.”
