Donald Trump was always ready to blame President Obama for high gasoline prices at the pump. See www.cnbc.com/… In 2011, Trump said that Obama “is in bed with these [OPEC] people. He doesn’t speak the way you have to speak to them.” Id. By 2012, the entire GOP joined the attack. See www.nytimes.com/…
Oh, that Trump, he is such a tough guy. See the photo above to learn how Donald Trump tough-talks “these OPEC people.”
POLITICO now reports on Friday, heading into the Memorial Day Weekend, at www.politico.com/…, that, to quote its headline and sub-head:
Surging gas prices could fuel backlash against Trump
A huge jump in driving costs in recent months is likely to push a wave of economic anger across the nation — just in time for the midterm elections.
Let me make two concessions: first, that I hate to see gas prices go up abruptly because they have a nasty impact on so many of our citizens who — in this age of massive income inequality — have a hard time making ends meet; and, second, presidents have little or no effect on gas prices, except when they do. One of the unintended, albeit entirely foreseeable consequences of Trump’s catastrophically stupid withdrawal from the Iran nuclear disarmament deal, or “JCPOA,” was a spike in gas prices in this country.
But let’s make the best of a bad thing. It’s Petro-Karma. When Obama left office, the average price of gasoline at the pump was $2.32 per gallon. See www.marketwatch.com/… Now, according to POLITICO, it is approximately $3.00 per gallon. By Trump’s own logic, he is to blame.
Here is the heart of the POLITICO piece:
The increased cost of fuel is already wiping out a big chunk of the benefit Americans received from the GOP tax cuts. And things could get worse as summer approaches following the administration’s standoff with Iran and a move by oil-producing nations to tighten supplies.
The result: The economic and political benefits Trump and the GOP hoped to reap from cutting tax rates could be swamped by higher pump prices that Americans face every time they hit the road.
“If you look at the benefits of what households are getting from lower rates, roughly one-third of that is wiped out if these higher gas prices are sustained,” said Ellen Zentner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley. “And when we drive down the street, every block we see glaring signs about how much gas costs that day . . .
Turnabout it fair play. Don’t let Trump or the GOP forget it. They were in charge, and Trump made it worse when he jerked the rug out from under JCPOA without having a plan of his own. Yes, it is Petro-Karma, and it must be placed squarely at the feet of IQ45 and the good-for-nothing Republican Congress that enables Trump every day in every way.