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Karoline Leavitt Says With Straight Face Trump Has Brought Down Gas Prices

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued Wednesday that gas prices have dropped during the Trump administration, despite a stark increase since the start of military operations against Iran.

President Donald Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in a Sunday morning Truth Social post, hours after Vice President JD Vance told reporters talks with Iran to end the conflict had stalled. Leavitt cut in after a reporter questioned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about comments he made regarding “economic pain” stemming from Operation Epic Fury.

“And thank goodness we have a president in an administration that believes in American energy dominance in bringing down prices at the pump,” Leavitt said.

“Look at how gas prices decreased over the past year since this president was in office,” she continued. “It’s a stark contrast to the previous administration and Democrats in this city who believe in hampering our domestic energy industry, who believe in importing our most precious resources, who believe in implementing policies that created the worst inflation crisis in history.”

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“The president’s been very clear … this is short term disruption for the long term strategic goal of the United States to ensure that the world’s leading state sponsor of terror cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” the press secretary added. “That’s a good thing for the American people. That’s a good thing for people all over the world and as the president and his economic and energy team have repeatedly stated as soon as the operation and now the negotiations with Iran conclude and the strait is reopened, we do expect gas prices to decrease.”

“President Trump has built the greatest economy in the world before. He is doing it again,” Leavitt claimed.

The average gas price has climbed from $2.98 per gallon on Feb. 28 — the day the war began — to $4.11 per gallon Wednesday, according to AAA, and was only $3.17 on April 15, 2025. The price is still below the record $5.01 national average price set in 2022.

While the Trump administration reversed the Biden administration’s hostility to fossil fuel production in the United States, which some say caused higher energy prices after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy prices have increased significantly since the Iran War began. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Futures Crude Oil closed at $90.80 Wednesday, up from the market’s $67.02 close on Feb. 27, the day before the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on the Middle Eastern country, according to Investing.com.

Roughly 20% of the world’s oil demand flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway separating Iran from the Arabian peninsula. The strait has been effectively closed following the outbreak of the war on Feb. 28.