Fascinating, isn’t it, that for all that Donald Trump has got away with, it’s arguably the cost of fuel that’s finally led to an absolute rout in the midterms.

So many Americans held their noses at so many other things, but in the end his own decision-making on Iran will haunt the rest of his presidency.

And it’s not so much the broken promise on ending the forever wars: it’s a rebirth of the old phrase “it’s the economy, stupid” that our own government will note. In the end, it transcends just about everything else.

In the US, the cost of petrol is much lower than in Australia generally, but gasoline is up 40% since last year. The price of diesel has jumped a massive 71%, hitting record highs in almost all states, since the start of the war in Iran and the disruption of shipping through the strait of Hormuz.

This has whacked families, farmers and industry in key battleground states, affecting primary producers and manufacturers – some of whom are already hurting due to the variable impact of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese trade and fertiliser prices.

These are the very people I spoke to when I covered Trump’s first administration: everyday Americans prepared to overlook their misgivings about his character in favour of what they thought he could deliver in the form of American exceptionalism.

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