伊朗冲突导致美国民众汽油价格猛涨，自2月28日“史诗般的愤怒”行动开始以来，平均每加仑汽油价格上涨了50美分。
美国汽车协会(AAA)称，周二汽油平均价格达到每加仑3.54美元。柴油价格也升至每加仑4.72美元。油价上涨主要受石油价格波动推动，由于霍尔木兹海峡实际上关闭，周一油价突破每桶100美元。
总统在周日的Truth Social帖子中称伊朗冲突期间的汽油价格上涨是“为所付的非常小的代价”。
这一表述与特朗普在“史诗般的愤怒”行动前典型的“吹嘘低油价”宣传形成鲜明对比。
“在我的前任执政期间，一些州的汽油价格达到每加仑6美元以上的峰值——老实说，这简直是一场灾难——而现在大多数州的油价低于2.30美元，有些地方甚至低至1.99美元，”唐纳德·特朗普总统在2月27日的国情咨文演讲中说。“几周前我访问爱荷华州时，甚至看到每加仑1.85美元的汽油。”
汽油和柴油价格的飙升可能会削弱特朗普总统和国会共和党人的经济宣传，他们一直将低油价视为11月中期选举前的重大胜利。生活成本问题预计将成为选民的主要关切，两党都声称将“聚焦于让日常生活更实惠”。
在2024年总统竞选期间，特朗普经常以“结束拜登对美国能源的战争”为竞选纲领，并承诺扭转其前任任期内出现的汽油价格上涨。
美国能源信息署称，拜登四年任期内，各类燃油平均价格为每加仑3.45美元，2022年6月俄乌战争爆发后，油价飙升至每加仑5美元以上的历史高位。
“从第一天开始，我们将降低价格，让美国重新变得负担得起，”特朗普在2024年7月共和党全国委员会大会上的演讲中说。“人们不能这样生活。”
民主党人抓住伊朗冲突期间加油站价格上涨大做文章。
“我希望政府在发动这场不必要的战争之前能考虑到这一点，”与民主党人团结合作的缅因州独立党参议员安格斯·金周一在被问及汽油价格上涨时表示。
“唐纳德·特朗普的战争让油价飙升至历史高位，”参议院少数党领袖、纽约州民主党人查尔斯·舒默周一在社交媒体上写道。“这是何等的蔑视，何等的无知。”
舒默呼吁总统从美国战略石油储备中释放石油，以应对中东的供应瓶颈。值得注意的是，这位顶级民主党人曾反对特朗普在油价较低时补充储备的努力。
共和党人表示有信心油价上涨是暂时的。共和党议员经常引用他们“废除拜登时代能源法规并提高国内产量”的努力，作为其政策能降低能源价格的证据。
“短期内可能会出现波动，关键是确保我们能安全进入霍尔木兹海峡，”蒙大拿州共和党参议员史蒂夫·戴恩斯周一表示，并补充称他相信这种中断将是短暂的。
戴恩斯上周突然暂停了他的连任竞选，他强调在特朗普国情咨文演讲前，汽油平均价格低于每加仑3美元。
“这对美国人民来说是个重要的胜利，”即将卸任的蒙大拿州议员表示。“每次给车加油时，你通常都会意识到这一点。”
一些共和党人和特朗普政府官员也认为，即使短期内会造成痛苦，击败伊朗最终将推动油价下降。
白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·利维特周二在简报中称近期石油和天然气价格上涨是“暂时的”。
“一旦‘史诗般的愤怒’行动的国家安全目标完全实现，美国人将看到石油和天然气价格迅速下降，甚至可能比行动开始前更低，”利维特说。
“归根结底，我们将摧毁这个政权，他们破坏石油的能力将减弱，我们的产量将增加而不是减少，”南卡罗来纳州共和党参议员林赛·格雷厄姆周一告诉记者。“一旦把这个最大的恐怖主义资助国从地球上抹去，这个依赖石油收入的国家，世界将更加稳定。”
路透社和益普索周一发布的一项民调显示，近70%的美国人——包括44%的共和党人——预计未来几个月汽油价格将继续上涨。
特朗普威胁称，如果霍尔木兹海峡的石油运输进一步受限，将以“前所未有的力量”打击伊朗。
“死亡、火焰和愤怒将降临在他们身上——但我希望并祈祷这不会发生！”特朗普周一在Truth Social上写道。
Republicans sharply criticized former President Joe Biden over rising prices at the gas pump, but a spike in energy prices amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran threatens to scramble the party’s affordability messaging.
The Iran conflict has led to a surge in gas prices for Americans, leading to an average 50 cents a gallon increase since Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28.
The average price of gas reached $3.54 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA. Diesel prices have also risen to $4.72 per gallon. The increases have been mostly fueled by volatility in oil prices, which rose above $100 per barrel on Monday as the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively shuttered.
The president characterized the gas price hike amid the Iran conflict as “a very small price to pay” in a Truth Social post Sunday.
That statement represented a sharp break with Trump’s typical messaging touting low gas prices prior to Operation Epic Fury.
“Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor — it was quite honestly a disaster — is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon,” President Donald Trump said during his Feb. 27 State of the Union address. “And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.”
The surge in gas and diesel prices threatens to undermine the economic message of President Trump and congressional Republicans, who have touted low gas prices as a major win in the lead-up to November’s midterm elections. Cost of living issues are expected to be a key concern among voters as both parties claim to be laser-focused on making everyday life more affordable.
During the 2024 presidential contest, Trump frequently campaigned on ending Biden’s “war on American energy” and pledged to reverse a surge in gas prices that occurred under his predecessor’s tenure.
Gas prices averaged $3.45 per gallon across all fuel grades during Biden’s four-year term, surging to a record high of more than $5 per gallon in June 2022 after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“Starting on Day 1, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again,” Trump said during a speech at the Republican National Committee convention in July 2024. “People can’t live like this.”
Democrats have seized on rising prices at the pump amid the conflict in Iran.
“I wish the administration thought about this before they started this unnecessary war,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, said Monday when asked about the gas price hike.
“Donald Trump’s war has sent gas prices skyrocketing through the roof,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote on social media Monday. “What contempt. What cluelessness.”
Schumer has called on the president to release oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat supply bottlenecks in the Middle East. The top Democrat notably opposed a Trump-led effort to replenish the stockpile in his first term when oil prices were much lower.
Republicans have voiced confidence that the rise in gas prices would be temporary. GOP lawmakers have frequently cited their efforts to roll back Biden-era energy regulations and boost domestic production as evidence that their policies are working to lower energy prices.
“It’s going to be probably volatile for a period of time. I think what’s going to be key is ensuring we can get safe access to the Strait of Hormuz,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said Monday, adding that he was confident the disruption would be short-lived.
Daines, who abruptly suspended his re-election campaign last week, highlighted that average gas prices were under $3 per gallon prior to Trump’s State of the Union speech.
“That’s an important win for the American people,” the retiring Montana lawmaker said. “Something you’re reminded of usually weekly when you’re gassing up your vehicle.”
Some Republicans and Trump administration officials are also arguing that a defeated Iran will ultimately spur lower gas prices, even if there is pain in the short run.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt characterized the recent increase in oil and gas prices as “temporary” during a briefing Tuesday.
“Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation,” Leavitt said.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to destroy this regime, and their ability to disrupt oil is going to be less, and we’re going to have more production, not less,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters Monday. “Once you take the largest state sponsor of terrorism off the planet, who depends on oil for their revenue, that’s a more stable world.”
Nearly seven in 10 Americans — including 44% of Republicans — expect gas prices to keep increasing in the coming months, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll released Monday.
Trump has threatened Iran with unprecedented force if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is further restricted.
“Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social.
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