President Donald Trump is making Democratic strategists' jobs easier and creating a major headache for Republicans seeking election this November, according to a report Tuesday.
Just two weeks ago, the 79-year-old president framed his party's message around his economic record — specifically touting $2.30 gasoline in most states — but his decision to join Israel in war against Iran threatens to undermine that pitch to voters as surging oil prices provoked pain at the pump, reported the Washington Post.
"Oil prices Monday spiked to levels not seen since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, while prices at the pump jumped nearly 50 cents higher than a week ago," the Post reported. "The price per barrel jumped to almost $120 at one point Monday before dropping to under $90 by the end of the day as Trump suggested the war with Iran could end soon. But the roller coaster still left some in his party anxious about the political and economic fallout, particularly as Iran has vowed to continue retaliatory strikes."
The White House insists the price hikes will be temporary, but lingering increases would present another challenge for Republicans in a less-than-favorable political environment, the report stated.
“Gas was one thing that they have been touting as an economic win,” said GOP pollster Mitchell Brown. “A reversal on that obviously makes the message harder.”
Trump's response to the increase – calling the hikes a "small price to pay" for security and blithely commenting "if they rise, they rise" – has alarmed some of his MAGA allies, with right-wing influencer Matt Walsh warning those comments "aren't helping anything," and many Republicans are hoping the military operation ends quickly.
“As we saw the last 24 hours, it’s a very volatile [situation]," said Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT). "This will start to calm down as this conflict is resolved I’m confident it will be resolved.”
Trump won re-election in 2024 by campaigning against soaring inflation under President Joe Biden, but his approval rating had drooped dramatically since returning to office — which Democratic strategists say gives them an "easy story" to tell voters heading into the midterm election.
"They only have one person to blame and that is the president of the United States," said Neera Tanden, a senior White House official under Biden who now leads the left-leaning Center for American Progress.