"Trump's Fault": US Diesel Prices Hit Record Highs, Truckers Threaten Strike

Diesel prices across the United States have hit an all-time high, surpassing six dollars per gallon (3.8 liters). By comparison, as recently as last September the average price per gallon stood at $3.77. In California, where fuel is traditionally more expensive due to steep taxes and special environmental blending requirements, diesel prices have spiked to $8.50 a gallon.

The backlash has spilled onto social media, with users posting videos filmed at gas stations where the price counter seems to spin endlessly. One such video was posted by former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — once a close Trump ally, now one of his sharpest critics. "This is Trump's fault. It shouldn't cost this much. This needs to end, it's absurd," she said, pointing to the war against Iran that the US president launched alongside Israel in late February.

Truckers Prepare to Strike

Carriers have been hit hardest by the price surge. According to Lewie Pugh, a professional driver with 25 years of experience and more than three million kilometers on the road, and vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents roughly 150,000 truckers, every one-dollar increase in diesel prices adds about $400 to the cost of filling a truck's tank. In some weeks, refueling has cost $800 more than usual.

"Trucking already runs on razor-thin margins. In this business, you don't make money on every cent — you save on it," Pugh explained. He says some carriers are planning a strike on October 1 to demand lower fuel prices. Farmers in the Midwest may join the protest as well — states like Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska are currently in the middle of harvesting corn, soybeans and pumpkins, and farm equipment burns through large volumes of diesel precisely during this season.

Why Prices Aren't Coming Down

A quick drop in prices seems unlikely. As The Wall Street Journal notes, the key refining indicator — the 3-2-1 crack spread, which measures the difference in value between three barrels of crude oil and the two barrels of gasoline and one barrel of diesel refined from them — currently exceeds $62, compared with a normal range of $10-20. This signals that demand for refined fuel is significantly outpacing refineries' processing capacity.

The Journal also warns that demand will only keep climbing heading into winter, as American households rely on diesel for heating, while refineries head into seasonal maintenance in the coming months — maintenance that had been postponed throughout the conflict to keep output at maximum capacity.

Trump Blames Ukraine as Allies Turn Away

Donald Trump himself remains unfazed by the price surge, insisting the US economy is experiencing its best stretch in modern history. He calls the expensive fuel a "small sacrifice" for ridding the world of the Iranian nuclear threat — even though six months into the war, Iran's nuclear program has yet to be destroyed. The president has promised that once the conflict ends, prices will "drop like a rock."

Trump has placed part of the blame on Ukraine, which has spent months striking Russian oil refineries. During a visit to Ireland, he said: "Zelensky needs to do one thing: stop destroying Russia's oil supplies... Don't hit fuel, it hurts the whole world."

It is precisely the war with Iran and the rising cost of living that have driven many former MAGA supporters to publicly turn on the president — among them former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, commentator Alex Jones, author Candace Owens, and UFC fighter Sean Strickland. Jones, who once called Trump the savior of Western civilization, is now calling on Congress to impeach him. Owens has publicly apologized for supporting the president, saying she feels "ashamed." Political scientist Matthew Schmidt of the University of New Haven notes: "Once you start hitting people's wallets, support weakens or disappears entirely. And expensive gasoline and diesel are the most sensitive spot for most Americans."

Source: seznamzpravy.cz