Trump Has Irresponsibly Driven Up Gas Prices by 40% & Americans Just Experienced the Priciest August at the Pump Ever

PROVIDENCE, RI – As President Trump’s irresponsible war with Iran crosses the half-year mark with escalating conflict and no end in sight, and still with no coherent strategy or endgame from the Trump Administration, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) says President Trump’s refusal to listen to U.S. Intelligence and uniformed military personnel led to avoidable blunders that have driven up gas prices nearly 40 percent nationwide compared with before the war. As a result, for the first time ever, U.S. gas prices averaged above $4 per gallon for the entire month of August , according to AAA. Senator Reed says Trump’s ill-conceived war of choice; the flawed assumptions of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other cabinet officials; and a refusal to listen to experts left the Trump Administration flat-footed for Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz that predictably destabilized the global energy market. And Trump’s escalating trade wars with Canada and other countries are imposing needlessly high tariff taxes on Americans, making it harder for working families to afford gas, groceries, housing, healthcare, and more. As of today, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $4.12 and the average price in Rhode Island is $4.16, according to AAA . Regular unleaded gasoline in Rhode Island averaged $2.94 the week before the war -- $1.22 less per gallon than it is today. The price of diesel in Rhode Island -- which powers trucks, tractors, and fishing boats -- is now $5.63 per gallon. The price of Brent crude oil was trading above $95 per barrel earlier today and West Texas Intermediate traded at $90 per barrel. Senator Reed says every American is paying higher prices today due to President Trump’s hubris, ego, lack of foresight, and repeated blunders – which includes making Jared Kushner, who is President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, who is President Trump’s friend, donor, and golfing buddy -- the chief diplomatic negotiators with Iran. Reed also points out the Trump family is financially profiting from the higher gas prices by pulling in millions of dollars from oil and gas company stock holdings. According to CBS News : “Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated this week that the president’s holdings in oil and gas companies have jumped in value from a range of $13 million to $46 million at the start of this year, to $17 million to $61 million by mid-August. Filers are only required to report ranges of transactions, not specific dollar amounts. The estimates were based on his stock holdings in 2025, and didn't take into account the trades that he's made since then.” Senator Reed stated: “When President Trump recklessly launched this war he dragged the American people into a protracted conflict without their consent. This wasn’t just a miscalculation, it was absolute malpractice by both the President and the Secretary of Defense. Now President Trump is enriching his family while imposing higher costs on working families and businesses and draining their savings. President Trump’s ill-conceived war hasn’t eliminated the threat from Iran or made America safer. He’s accomplished none of the goals he used as a pretext for war. But every time American drivers fill up their gas tank, they are forced to pay a hefty ‘Trump gas tax.’ And every time a farmer fills up a tractor, a fisherman fills up a boat, or a trucker fills up an 18-wheeler at these elevated prices, Americans get billed for that ‘Trump gas tax’ too. This was entirely predictable and avoidable and can all be traced directly to the short-comings of President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others in the Trump Administration who continue to prolong this conflict without a clear strategy for success. And the ‘Trump gas tax’ is imposed at more places than just the pump: The higher shipping and transportation costs are also fueling higher prices at the grocery store and in household budgets across America. President Trump needs to end his reckless war and stop the ‘Trump gas tax.’” Using diesel, it costs the average trucker over $1,500 to fill up a Big Rig 18-wheeler with two 150-gallon side tanks. A 30-foot offshore sportfishing charter boat with a 400-gallon tank costs about $2,250 to fill up. And a 75-foot commercial fishing vessel with a 10,000-gallon fuel tank costs $56,300 to fill up at today’s average diesel prices. According to Brown University’s Iran War Cost Energy Tracker , the energy burden on American citizens – the extra costs for gas and diesel they are forced to pay because of Trump’s war with Iran -- has risen to $96 billion. That means the average family has been forced to pay nearly $735 more for products due to elevated gas and diesel prices over the past six months because of Donald Trump’s war. Reed also pointed out that when it comes to gas prices, President Trump is seeking to blatantly mislead Americans by claiming that his so-called oil deal with Venezuela will lower gas prices. In a story titled “ The U.S. Venezuela oil deal won’t lower your gas prices. Here’s what you need to know ,” NPR reports: “In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote that this deal will “substantially lower gas prices” for American taxpayers. “Kepes says that the idea of this deal affecting gas prices now is “absurd.” “Many of the larger oil fields being discussed in the deal are still largely undeveloped. That means it will take a minimum of a few years for those fields to produce anything, Monaldi says.” It was also recently reported that Trump-promoted ‘Freedom Fuel’ gas stations, which sell below market rate gas at a network of two dozen stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, is being sued for selling fuel that its supplier never paid for, according to a lawsuit . While the Trump Administration tries to withhold information from Congress about the true cost of the Iran war -- and won’t officially call it a war (Operation Epic Fury) -- the Pentagon has already asked for $67 billion in an emergency supplemental budget for the Iran war .