President Donald Trump defended his decision to launch military attacks in Iran and dismissed concerns that it has spurred higher costs for American consumers. In an Aug. 14 speech in Garden City, New York, he said: “We don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that, when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4. It’s OK. I mean, I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing.”
The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the United States was more than $4.07 per gallon, as of Aug. 14, according to the AAA Fuel Prices tracker. That is nearly a dollar higher than the average price of $3.13 on Jan. 20, 2025, when Trump began his second term.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to curb inflation and lower prices for American consumers. In a September 2024 speech, he promised to cut energy prices in half within a year and to get gasoline prices down to under $2 a gallon.
On Feb. 28, he launched U.S. military attacks on Iran. In response, Iran began blocking oil tankers and other ships from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway used to export goods from the Middle East. The U.S. saw its supplies reduced and its fuel prices increase. Despite Trump’s repeated false claims that the straight is open, Iran attacks commercial ships trying to move through the strait.
As the average American household has paid $477 more for gasoline since the start of the Iran war, according to an analysis by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee minority staff, Trump has said on multiple occasions that a huge price drop was imminent.
On June 14, Trump posted on his Truth Social site: “the Hormuz Strait will be opening shortly. Gas prices will plummet, and Affordability will be far better than the numbers from the Record Inflation Driven Biden Administration years.”
“GAS PRICES COMING DOWN, FAST!” he posted on June 29.
“Prices coming down along with the lowering of oil and gas,” he said on July 12. “Thank you! President DJT.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on July 23, by a vote of 214-208, directing Trump “to remove the United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran.” Four Republicans joined with all 210 Democrats present in favor. Similar efforts have been defeated in the GOP-led U.S. Senate.
