US President Donald Trump ordered gasoline retailers to immediately lower prices and warned of 'big problems' if they do not comply.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday, Trump said: 'Gasoline retailers MUST immediately lower their prices.' The president wrote: 'If retailers don't do this, big problems are coming. Start targeting around $2.50 per gallon.'
Trump also specifically targeted California, calling on the state to reduce its taxes on gasoline. 'Soon the tax will be higher than the product itself, and the US will not allow it, just as the people of California, who are being exploited by their own government with these absurd taxes, will not allow it,' he said.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom is known as one of Trump's harshest critics during his second term. California is also focusing on renewable energy and aims to have a carbon-neutral electricity grid within 20 years.
However, with gasoline prices rising since the US-Israel war on Iran, the Trump administration is encouraging more domestic fuel production and has invoked emergency powers to restart an oil pipeline in California that was shut down due to a major leak in 2015.
Last week, Trump also announced he has launched an investigation into major oil companies over high gasoline prices. In a June 24 Truth Social post, he said: 'Big Oil companies are not lowering pump prices in proportion to the sharply falling prices they pay for oil. These prices are falling like a rock. In other words, customers are being ripped off. I have ordered the Department of Justice to begin investigating this matter immediately.'
Trump's demand for lower gasoline prices came at a time when he faces criticism for declaring war on Iran and its impact on costs for millions of Americans, and as midterm elections approach in November. The president has repeatedly said that fuel prices will 'fall like a rock' after the conflict with Iran ends, but economists dispute Trump's claims, predicting longer-term economic repercussions due to the conflict.
