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Why Trump deserves all the blame for high gas prices
Normally blaming the president is unfair. But not this time.
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When Democrats running for office saw a poll released by Politico last week finding that “three in five Americans believe gas prices in their area have risen by more than they actually have,” they surely couldn’t help but smile.
Ignorance and misperception about basic facts have always been a fundamental part of American politics, but now it’s working to the advantage of Democrats for a change.
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Not that they need to exaggerate on that score, since the national average for regular gas is now over $4 a gallon — not as high as it was in May, but about a dollar more than it was for most of 2025. After prices fell a bit over the last couple of months, they’ve spiked again, just in time for the home stretch of the midterm election campaign.
Even Republican voters are mad, and they’re blaming the president.
The Washington Post interviewed one man who said voting for Trump was “the worst three mistakes I’ve ever made in my life.” Trump hasn’t kept his promise to lower gas prices, which “have been costing his family an extra $300 to $500 every month for their motorcycle and four cars,” the paper reported. While that may be more than most, the increase since the start of the war has meant tens of billions of dollars in increased costs for consumers.
Even if people are justified in being mad, the politics of gas prices don’t exactly bring out the best in America, either its politicians or its voters. The issue is full of misunderstanding, unfair blame-placing, foolish policymaking, and absurd posturing.
Nevertheless, no president has ever deserved to be hoisted on the petard of gas prices more than Donald Trump. That’s not only because of how he weaponized the issue against his opponents before, but because unlike almost every other president, Trump is actually responsible for where the price of gas is right now.
Signs, signs, everywhere a sign
Gas prices are a unique economic indicator because not only do most Americans have direct experience with them, street corners in every city and town feature giant signs telling all who pass by what the price is.
The price of no other product is advertised so heavily and invasively, and as a na