Is Trump Responsible for Falling Gasoline Prices?
With gasoline prices plummeting, President Donald Trump gave himself a third-person pat on the back via Twitter: “thank you President T.”
Energy experts say the decline in prices is largely motivated by market forces outside the president’s control. But experts attribute at least part of the recent drop to the Trump administration’s decision to soften hard-line sanctions against Iran — allowing waivers for eight countries to buy oil from Iran.
Blaming or crediting a president for rising or falling gasoline prices is a regular, bipartisan political ploy. In May, we wrote that Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer placed too much blame on Trump for rising gasoline prices at the time. President Barack Obama also found himself a frequent target of partisan attacks for rising gas prices.
Experts say those kinds of attacks hold little merit, as a president’s influence doesn’t drive gasoline prices. And that’s largely true now. But Trump
