All posts tagged "gas prices"

Ivanka Trump draws scorn with tone-deaf horse-riding video amid economic woes

President Donald Trump's eldest daughter is drawing online scorn after posting a video of herself enjoying an oceanside horse ride.

On Monday, Ivanka Trump posted the video of her racing a horse on the beach in front of a setting sun and scored it to "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay. Commentators gave more than an online roll of the eyes as they blasted Ivanka for posting the video while her father presides over high gas prices and a troubled economy.

In a post on X, political journalist Carla Marinucci described the video as the "2026 version" of Marie Antoinette's "Let them eat cake."

"Bro," wrote MeidasTouch political commentator Ben Meiselas. "These people are actually demons."

"I need to see this whole family in jail so badly," reacted progressive political commentator Jack Cocchiarella.

Media personality and political strategist Keith Edwards noted that Ivanka posted the video and turned off the ability for anyone to reply to it. "Turning off replies," Edwards posted. "She knows."

Republican podcaster Melissa Witte juxtaposed the Trump family's messaging by pointing out that Kai Trump posted a video about her luxury dorm that day.

"Americans: We can't afford gas, food or tuition," Witte wrote on X. "Trump family: here's a video of Kai's luxury dorm, Ivanka riding a horse and we're also gonna rename both New Mexico and Lake Ontario 'America.'"

MAGA journalist Eric Spracklen similarly wrote, "Americans: $4 a gallon gas is killing me," and then "Trumps:" above the video.

The official account for the press office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) reacted to Ivanka's video by simply writing, "OK," above a screenshot of an article with the headline "Fuel prices at record Labor Day high in US thanks to Iran war and refinery issues."

Likewise, Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman responded to Ivanka's video by posting a screenshot of a New York Times article headlined, "Under Trump, protected wild horses are going to the slaughter," which is about the Trump administration sending wild horses to be killed and eaten abroad.

Trump official’s spin crashes and burns after getting brutal reality check on Fox News

Energy Secretary Chris Wright took to Fox News Monday to boast about the amount of vessels currently transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but quickly pivoted to attacking the Biden administration and blaming Democrats after being issued a blunt reality check.

Wright boasted that 30 vessels had transited the Strait of Hormuz Sunday amid the ongoing U.S. war against Iran that’s caused severe disruptions to the critical waterway, and bragged that the United States was “continuing to get oil and gas and other critical products” out of the channel.

“So even if the numbers were 30 ships per day, that's still down from a pre-war high of about 130 ships per day,” noted Fox News host John Roberts. “When can we expect to see the traffic increase back up to pre-war levels?”

Wright dodged Roberts’ question by informing him that he didn’t “know the future.” He also insisted a generous amount of oil was, in fact, being transited through the Strait of Hormuz, and dismissed the need for oil coming out of the strait, citing the United States’ own oil production.

“Oil is still $83 a barrel, up from I think low $60s back in early February,” Roberts said. “Why is the price of oil so high if almost all the oil that was getting out before the war is getting out now?”

Wright was forced to admit that “we’re not fully back to the full flow” and that there was a “disruption” before pivoting to attack the Biden administration and Democrats.

“I've got to point out: oil prices were far higher during the Biden administration when there wasn't disruption of flows in the Middle East, and another huge thing for energy prices in the United States is Democratic policies!” Wright said. “Foolish green energy policies, they're at least as responsible for high energy prices as the conflict with Iran.”

"Foolish green energy policies, they're at least as responsible for high energy prices as the conflict with Iran!"

- Energy Secretary Chris Wright pic.twitter.com/ivRUDSxl57
— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) August 17, 2026

Jake Tapper rolls clip of 'pooh-poohing' Trump tailor-made for Dem attack ad

CNN anchor Jake Tapper highlighted a moment from President Donald Trump's speech on Friday that could serve as an attack ad for Democrats ahead of the midterms.

Trump said he would "never apologize" for higher gas prices even though Americans are struggling to pay for rising costs at the pump during a speech at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York. Trump touted his crackdown on crime and the ongoing Iran war at a campaign rally with Republican gubernatorial candidate and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

Tapper commented on the president's remarks.

"So I have to say that is made for a Democratic attack ad, not all of it, not the part about Iran and the nukes, but for you to pay a little bit more for the gasoline cut to, 'you're at $4. It's OK. I'll never apologize. I did the right thing,'" Tapper said.

Matt Mowers, former senior White House adviser during Trump's first administration, argued Trump was defending his decision to launch a joint military operation with Israel against Iran.

"I think it's explaining the cost of conflict, right?" Mowers said. "What he's now doing is saying there is a reason that we are all paying more for [gas] right now. What he didn't do, and I think this was actually smart politically, is he didn't try to say, 'well, it's actually not that high.' He didn't try to pooh-pooh it. He didn't try to dismiss concerns."

Tapper pushed back.

"He said a little bit more. That's kind of a pooh-pooh," Tapper said.

Tapper added that Trump's statement might not be popular among the GOP.

"It's probably not the message that Republican candidates want the president to be saying, with only 80-something days until the midterms," Tapper said.

Scott Jennings brutally fact-checked while claiming Trump lowered gas prices

Conservative CNN pundit Scott Jennings was quickly fact-checked as he tried to convince panelists that Trump has lowered gas prices.

During an appearance on a panel hosted by CNN anchor Abby Phillip, Jennings flatly stated that "gas is lower today than when he took office," referring to Trump.

"No, it's not," Phillip shot back. She had to repeat herself as Jennings continued trying to make the assertion.

Jennings was responding to comments by Democratic political strategist Neera Tanden, who was also a Biden White House advisor. Tanden pointed out that the price of oil and gas had gone up.

"What's the price of gas today, do you know?" Jennings asked. When Tanden gave estimates for a barrel of oil at $78 and gas at $4.30 per gallon, Jennings responded, "And what's the price of gas under Joe Biden?" and asked Tanden if she ever talked about oil and gas prices when Biden was president.

"Scott, that's actually not the question," Phillip intervened, which is when Jennings made his claim about gas now being lower since Trump took office. Meanwhile, Tanden said that gas was $3.20 a gallon under Biden.

"Gas is not lower today than when Trump took office, and it's not lower today than it was before Trump started the war" with Iran, Phillip said, continuing her point.

"So look, you can dismiss the gas thing, but it's a real thing that people are going to the gas pump, filling up their tank, and it's costing them 70 bucks," Phillip said.

'Newsflash— it's not working': MS NOW dumps more bad news in Trump's lap

Trump sees his slate of D.C. vanity projects a "welcome distraction" from an ongoing affordability crisis, but MS NOW slammed the idea.

"Newsflash, it's not working," MS NOW reporter Jake Traylor said.

Traylor quoted a former White House official who said that Trump saw his reflecting pool, various fountains, and other projects as "a welcome distraction" from the ongoing war in Iran and an affordability crisis in the United States.

However, Traylor pointed to new polling that shows a meager 28 percent approval rating for the White House ballroom, a 21 percent approval rating for the triumphal arch, and 12 percent approval for putting his name on a $250 bill.

"Americans are not getting on board with this distraction," Traylor said. "Even if it is something that's working in the president's mind right now."

Ex-Trump official derides president's pet project on CNN: 'Couldn't be more tone deaf'

One of the pet projects that President Donald Trump likes to tout the most was mocked as 'tone deaf' on CNN.

GOP analyst Sarah Matthews, a former Trump White House deputy press secretary, spoke about the president's obsession with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after a montage of him calling the landmark "a swimming pool on steroids" and saying about its controversial renovation, "nobody's ever seen anything like it."

Matthews explained, "he's a real estate guy. He loves to build," and "he's looking at these little pet projects, and this is what excites him."

However, even though Trump "probably is bored of talking about Iran. He doesn't want to talk about inflation," Matthews maintained, his comments "couldn't be more tone deaf."

As much as his renovations of the Reflecting Pool get him "jazzed up," Matthews explained that it's the issues that bore him that matter to everyone else.

"What the American people are actually focused on is the affordability crisis that he has only exacerbated with his choice to launch this attack on Iran and raise gas prices," Matthews said.

'Unconscionable': Fed-up lawmaker blasts Mike Johnson for yanking vote to rein in Trump

WASHINGTON — Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) told reporters on Thursday that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pulled a scheduled war powers resolution vote, saying that it was clear that Democrats had enough votes to compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Iran war.

"They just pulled it, unconscionably. It is beyond time that we address this issue," Scholten said. "Gas prices are $5. I'm getting $5 a gallon in Michigan. People on the West Coast are hearing that and they're planning a road trip to Michigan to put it in Tupperware and take it back home with them. I'm getting calls in my office about people cancelling their Memorial Day plans because they literally cannot afford to drive to their cottages in Michigan and celebrate this weekend how they normally would."

She described how the economy and skyrocketing gas prices has caused frustration among Americans.

"It's obviously about a failed plan, not the whims of a president who decides he's bored one day and wants to continue this war," Scholten said. "The power and the decision, whether we go forward with this, belongs in the hands of the people and that's why Congress needs the power to decide."

Scholten said that she has questions about what's happening among leadership behind-the-scenes.

"We do hope that Mike Johnson will answer it and not deflect as he often does, saying 'I don't know anything about that.' It's his decision. We had the votes for it today and I'm not one to speculate, but I do believe that's why he probably pulled it because I think we could have got it done today. And that's unfortunate. It's a disservice to the American people."

Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) tells reporters Thursday that House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled a scheduled War Powers resolution vote.

“They just pulled it, unconscionably. It is beyond time that we address this issue.”

🎥 @MattLaslo pic.twitter.com/uTWTV9Vzdv
— Nicole Charky-Chami (@NicoleCharky) May 22, 2026

'That dog ain't gonna hunt': GOP strategist warns Jim Jordan's spin won't fly with voters

A Republican strategist doubted that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) would be able to settle down voters upset with high gas prices with the latest GOP talking point.

After Jordan told CNN on Thursday night that gas prices don't matter as much as Iran's nuclear capabilities, Republican strategist Melik Abdul reacted to the clip by saying "that dog ain't gonna hunt."

Republicans "can continue to say that over and over again." Abdul warned that "how people feel is how they vote," and voters are more worried about the price at the gas pump.

"They're going to go to the polls, not on Iran. They're going to go to the polls on gas prices, food prices, and all of these other things," Abdul explained. "Republicans have to understand it doesn't matter what's happening in Iran. It doesn't matter what you're doing with DEI and suing all of these schools. People care about their pocketbooks."

The exchange comes amid mounting Republican anxiety over the political fallout from the Iran war, which has pushed average U.S. gas prices above $4.50 per gallon, up from under $3 before the conflict began in February. Trump campaigned in 2024 on bringing gas prices below $2 a gallon.

During that same interview, CNN's Kaitlan Collins reminded Jordan he had been "critical when gas was $3.07, when President Biden was in office" and asked, "If you thought that was bad, what is $4.53?"

Jordan replied that "gas prices were coming down until we had to deal with this situation" in Iran, before adding, "But you know, that's life, that's dealing with the world and the world we live in."

When Collins pressed him on Trump's 2024 campaign promise to bring gas prices under $2 a gallon, Jordan said, "Hopefully, we'll get there soon. I want — I want gas prices low, too. I mean, we all want gas prices low. Who doesn't, for goodness sake?"

Moments later, when Collins repeated his "that's life" line back to him, Jordan tried to walk it back, telling her, "Those are your words, not mine" — even though he had said exactly that less than a minute earlier.

White House in a panic that gas is about to pass $5: report

Trump administration officials once called high gas prices the Biden administration's "Achilles' heel" — but now it appears that could have come back to haunt them, according to a new Reuters report on Thursday.

The political and economic backlash over the Iran war has left the White House struggling to address the skyrocketing price of oil as the prospect of a quick end to the military operation looks increasingly unlikely, three Trump administration insiders familiar with the conversations told Reuters.

"U.S. President Donald Trump this week backed suspending the federal gas tax, a step that would knock 18 cents a gallon off motor fuel prices currently averaging more than $4.50 a gallon nationwide," Reuters reported. "Once viewed by some White House aides as unnecessary, the idea is gaining urgency as officials run low on options to show they are tackling rising costs, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations."

As prices have climbed, the president needs "a visible consumer relief move now," one of the White House insiders said.

"Historically, $4-per-gallon gasoline has been a level that triggers public backlash and economic anxiety," Reuters reported.

AAA data has revealed that seven states have already passed the $5 a gallon mark.

And as consumer sentiment drops to a record low and consumer inflation hit 3.8 percent this April — the highest it has been in nearly three years — more Americans are experiencing economic strain as gas prices climb and U.S. households are already paying the price.

With midterm elections in November, Republicans have started pressuring Trump and his administration as they worry that affordability concerns among voters could ultimately push Republicans out of majority in the House of Representatives — and potentially the Senate.

"They feel like that’s their largest vulnerability right now: that specific cost, gas, not overall economic conditions," an unnamed White House political adviser told Reuters.

"The toughest thing, too, is that we made gas prices the Achilles' heel for (former President Joe) Biden and now it's our own."

Taylor Rogers, White House spokesperson, said that the president and his energy team had expected the Iran war would create repercussions for global energy markets and had anticipated they needed a plan to address it.

"The ability to supply both the United States and our allies with reliable, affordable, and secure energy has long been a key strategic objective of President Trump, and his successful efforts to unleash American oil and gas has achieved this objective," Rogers told Reuters.

Congressman laughs in Trump official's face over claim high gas prices are 'exciting'

A Democratic lawmaker laughed at a Trump administration official during a congressional hearing on Wednesday after the cabinet member made a peculiar claim that soaring gas prices were "exciting."

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) pressed Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to answer questions about the rising costs at the pump for Americans as Burgum testified about President Donald Trump's 2027 budget request before the House Natural Resources Committee in Washington, D.C.

"Mr. Secretary, while you're funneling billions into these vanity projects, gas is up by an average of $1.40 a gallon from last year," Huffman said.

"In March, President Donald Trump posted this message. He said, 'the United States is the largest oil producer in the world by far, so when oil prices go up we make a lot of money," Huffman said, making air quotes with his hand while saying "we," and asking, "Who's the we?"

Burgum responded to Huffman's question.

"It could be states, the federal government, the American people, when we collect royalty rates on oil production on federal lands and so prices are higher than there's more revenue coming into the system," Burgum said.

But Huffman wasn't satisfied with that response.

"So this is good for American families that they're paying $1.40 more for gas?" Huffman asked.

"I'm not saying that, but I'm thrilled that they're paying about a buck less than they were during the Biden administration. I mean, that's exciting," Burgum said. "And these prices are going to drop quickly again because now we actually have supply, you know prices are based on supply."

Huffman interjected and called out Burgum's claims.

"There's a real disconnect here," Huffman said. "Americans are not celebrating this spike in gas prices, that you seem to think is just great. And your only answer is to harken back to the depths of the pandemic."

Burgum tried to argue again, and Huffman chuckled at his remarks.

"Americans are paying $1.40 more a gallon and there's no end in sight to this energy crisis created by the war in Iran," Huffman added. "They're the ones who can't afford to keep the lights on and keep food on the table, but the 'we' that's making a lot more money — let's be honest about it — are the big oil billionaires."

BURGUM: I'm thrilled Americans are paying about a buck less for gas than they did during the Biden administration. That's exciting

HUFFMAN: There's a real disconnect here. Americans are not celebrating this spike in gas prices, and your only answer is to harken back to the… pic.twitter.com/F1JbYUwz8x
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 13, 2026