ARE GAS PRICES A POLITICAL WEAPON AGAINST THE TRUMP ECONOMY?

Chris Kleponis/Getty Images

May 16, 2018

Rob Lauer Political Reporter

The United States in bursting at the seams with gasoline, in fact after a nearly four-decade-old ban was lifted by President Trump this year, purchases of U.S. light, sweet crude have skyrocketed as pipelines and dock infrastructure was built out and the wider price spread between Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude coaxed more cargoes abroad. In fact, with the lifting of the ban on fracking, the U.S. is now the biggest producer of oil in the world.

So why on Earth have gas prices spiked this year? If our oil supply is at an all-time high so much so that we are exporting oil than how can U.S. pump prices go up so much? U.S. pump prices have gone up about 20% when one compares prices today to one year ago. That translates into American consumers paying out an extra over $4.4 Billion for the month of April for gas.

After President Trump cut taxes this year for the Average American, the cost of gas at the pump threatens to wipe out those tax breaks and the slow the U.S. economy right before midterm elections. In fact, President Trump took to tweeter to attack OPEC for manipulating prices.

Many Washington D.C. insiders reported that former Mobil Exon CEO, Rex Tillerson felt President Trump treated him disrespectfully when he fired him very publicly and that may be what’s behind the sudden spike in fuel prices.

As the U.S. economy is seemingly shooting straight up after 8 years of stagnation under President Obama, the economic gains made by President Trump are under a very really attack by spiking fuel prices and increasing interest rates. There are certainly efforts by those opposed to Trump to slow down Trump train economy. It’s not a conspiracy when your political opponents control the Federal Reserve and the largest oil companies in the world.