Gasoline

Trump Bragged About Lower Gas Prices. Then He Bombed Iran.

You can have low gas prices or war in the Middle East, but not both.

Joe Lancaster | 3.6.2026 10:00 AM

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(Illustration: Zhang Fengguo / Xinhua News Agency/Samuel Corum/Sipa USA/Newscom)

Presidents like to claim good economic news as vindication, whether they had anything to do with it or not. Former President Bill Clinton often claims that the economy simply adds more jobs under Democrats than under Republicans, but that analysis only works if you ignore Congress and any other external economic forces.

Ultimately, presidents have very little direct impact on the economy. That's why egg and beef prices remain high, even though President Donald Trump pledged to "immediately" lower grocery prices "starting on Day 1."

But there are actions a president can take that will have direct, immediate effects on prices—for example, launching a war in the Middle East.

"Gasoline, which reached a peak of........

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