In case you haven’t noticed – and who hasn’t? – gas prices are on the rise, bigly. That’s bad, especially in a summer season in which people want to travel, be it by car or plane, and rising fuel prices makes that more difficult. Democrats are reminding Trump that he is the one that pinned high gas prices on Obama’s policies.
Per Politico, turnaround is all too fair to play:
They’re unleashing the message with gusto against President Donald Trump, arguing that his foreign policy moves — including his push to reimpose sanctions on Iran — are to blame for a 50-cent-per-gallon surge in prices since he took office. Democrats also note that gas prices are the highest they’ve been in nearly four years despite the multibillion-dollar windfall that oil companies received from the GOP-backed tax bill.
Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark, because it’s just so easy to understand. Even the biggest dolts in the Trump camp know that Iran produces a lot of oil, and to now hear that Trump has abandoned the deal with Iran, and thus put sanctions back upon Iranian oil, it moves the gas needle up, so to speak.
Want to know how to make the message twice as effective? Combine the profits made from rising gas prices with the money the oil companies already received from Trump’s tax breaks, and you start to see why oil companies prefer Republicans in office. Oh, and it makes people angry:
Wyden’s panel released a report highlighting the fact that the nation’s four largest oil companies are poised to reap some $15 billion in tax benefits over the next decade from the GOP’s tax law, while gas prices reach their highest levels in years. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) released his own staff report using the same tactic, blaming higher prices on “President Trump’s incoherent foreign policy.”
To be sure, the price of oil futures are some of the most complicated aspects of the economy, influenced by dozens of factors, Russia’s emergence, OPEC policy, Venezuela’s collapse, etc. But, who cares? Trump boiled it all down to nothing but Obama and his policies and thus of course he need be reminded. Besides:
But analysts also say the White House may indeed be contributing to the rise in prices. Trump’s appointment of John Bolton as his national security adviser has spooked oil traders who worry about tensions in the Middle East, said Citigroup energy analyst Eric Lee. Meanwhile, Trump’s threat to place heavy sanctions on Iran could remove oil from the global markets, and his moving of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem may irritate Saudi Arabia enough that the kingdom won’t increase its own oil flows to lessen the hurt on U.S. drivers.
Chew on that for a while, Donald. It’s all fun and games while the economy is cooking along, but if it turns, look out, people will put the blame on someone, and Obama isn’t standing on the pedestal anymore.
