Trump touts lowest holiday gasoline prices in half a decade

Donald Trump has been promising that he would get gasoline prices dropped, and according to his administration, he has delivered on this.

Now, Trump has been getting a bit creative with his prices, as I am sure anyone who had to fill up their tank can attest to.

So, let’s see what is fact and what is fiction in this report.

Biden gasoline prices

When Joe Biden took office, the national average for gasoline prices hung around $2.40 per gallon, the lowest we would see once Biden took office.

Prices started to trickle up immediately, and a year later, it was $1 more per gallon.

Biden’s worst stretch came in 2022, when he was in an all-out battle with fossil fuels and tapping into our reserves to try to offset prices.

During that stretch, the national average soared above $5 per gallon, with some states seeing prices north of $8 per gallon.

The Trump years

During Trump’s first term, we had some of the lowest prices in decades.

There was an initial uptick after Trump took office, but it was nothing like what we saw when Biden took over.

Trump’s worst stretch, ironically, also hit two years into office, as we saw prices hovering very close to $3 per gallon, but they started to come back down that winter.

For Trump’s last two years in office, we saw shockingly low prices, even trickling under $2 per gallon for a hot minute, with Trump turning over the administration to Biden with an average price per gallon of $2.42.

Latest claims

Earlier this year, Trump posted, “Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years. Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” That, however, is not accurate. When Trump made the claim, the average price of gasoline was $3.278 per gallon. The only price that was at $1.98 was the futures on RBOB gasoline, which is not what consumers are paying.

Now the administration is touting the lowest gasoline prices in half a decade, and that is hard to argue with.

GasBuddy projects the national average to be at $3.15 per gallon, and in Texas, we are seeing sub-$3 per gallon prices regularly. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, "Thanks to President Trump fully unleashing American energy dominance, gas prices this summer are at five-year lows and families are saving significant money at the pump. President Trump ended Joe Biden’s green new scam policies and is making America affordable again.”

Historically, prices will drop after summer travel is over, so I fully expect us to see a national average under $3 very soon. So, while Trump has touted some bogus numbers, the fact is that prices are going down. Now, if we can just get him to do something about electric prices, as they have actually increased (at least according to my latest renewal), and they have gone up considerably (my best offer is 26.3% higher than my previous agreement).