Gas Prices Need to Drop this Summer

For the Iran war to be a political plus for Republicans in the midterms, it needs to end soon enough so gas prices start dropping this summer. 

J. Robert Smith | May 21, 2026

For the Iran war to be a political plus for Republicans in the midterms, it needs to end soon enough so gas prices start dropping this summer. President Trump knows this. After 11 years in national politics, if you aren’t convinced that Trump is a master politician, nothing will convince you.

Crushing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions wins thumbs up. In and of itself, though, it won’t win many votes for congressional GOP candidates. Reality is reality. The Iranian threat is too many steps removed from voters’ daily lives. Paychecks and family budgets dominate. The projected median household income in 2026 is approximately $89,000. That’s not a fortune today. And it’s not parroting a Democrat talking point to express concern about costs. The president has acknowledged concerns. He’s assured voters that higher energy prices are temporary.

Trump swears that gas prices will “drop like a rock” when the war ends and the Strait of Hormuz opens fully. The catch is, when? Perhaps it’s an oversell for Trump to claim that prices will plummet, but they need only start declining to boost voter confidence.

During the Beijing summit, the president sat down for an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Baier pressed Trump on gas prices and costs generally. The president emphasized the economy’s good performance. He highlighted the stock market’s surge and benefits to retirement accounts. All true, but a lot of working people have modest retirement investments. Filling gas tanks and getting out of grocery stores without running up credit cards are weekly challenges.

Those concerns matter because working-class and middle-income voters are the Republican Party base now. Trump has been remaking the GOP for a decade. The likes of John Thune, Lisa........

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