Throughout the 2024 election, Republican candidate Donald Trump confidently promised that if elected he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine in the first 24 hours of his second term.
But 574 days later, the war in Ukraine is still raging. And it’s unexpectedly an issue for Republicans in the fast-approaching midterm elections.
Nearly four-and-a-half years after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has begun to launch successful drone strikes on Russia’s oil refineries and tankers. Those attacks have led to supply issues that, coupled with the idiotic war Trump started in Iran, are wreaking havoc on gas prices worldwide.
Indeed, Trump and his impotent Vice President JD Vance are begging Ukraine to stop attacking Russia’s oil tankers to avoid worsening the already dire oil supply crisis Trump created when he decided to bomb Iran. It’s a request Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not appear to be following.
Related | Ukraine knows that Trump and Vance don’t have the cards
It turns out, that Oval Office ambush the two imbecilic American leaders carried out on Zelenskyy wasn’t so smart after all.
And now, as Iran blocks the oil flow from the Middle East and with Russia unable to collect and distribute oil due to Ukrainian attacks, a supply shortage is set to spike gas, diesel, and heating fuel prices just as the midterm election season enters the home stretch.
“Average gasoline prices climbed back above $4 per gallon over the last week, with prices rising in slightly more states than they fell, as rebounding oil prices driven by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries kept upward pressure on the market,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote in a post on X.
“Diesel felt the pressure even more acutely, rising in all but a few states, as Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refining infrastructure continue to impact refined product prices more than crude oil itself,” De Haan continued. “While the seasonal transition to cheaper winter-blend gasoline in the coming month could bring some relief, the two dominant challenges facing motorists—the closed Strait and the ongoing refinery strikes—show no signs of resolving anytime soon. Until they do, the path for gas and diesel prices remains tilted to the upside.”
High gas prices are a killer for the party in power during an election year.
Analysis has shown that the president’s approval rating is inextricably tied to the cost of gasoline—something that we’ve witnessed as Trump’s approval has sunk to all-time lows as the price of gasoline has once again creeped over $4 per gallon.
And Trump’s sinking approval is weighing down GOP candidates on the ballot in the midterms, as even Republicans are frustrated with their once-Dear Leader and are threatening to stay home or even vote for Democrats this fall.
You can tell the White House is panicked, too.
On Monday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright went on Fox News and tried to blame fuel prices on former President Joe Biden.
“There is a disruption here,” Wright—who in March predicted that the cost of gasoline would be below $3 per gallon by this summer—said Monday. “But I gotta point out, oil prices were far higher during the Biden administration.”
Related | Even Republicans are growing tired of Trump
And Fox News is even blatantly lying to its viewers about gas prices to try to quell the growing outrage from the GOP base, posting a graphic that falsely said gasoline prices were higher at this same point last year. While Fox News listed last year’s gas price as $4.13 per gallon, the actual price according to AAA’s fuel tracker was $3.14.
Ultimately, high gas prices sparked by Trump’s war in Iran and Putin’s war on Ukraine are going to trickle down into higher costs for other goods and services in the U.S.—in direct violation of Trump’s promise to bring prices down and make life more affordable for Americans.
Polls show voters are desperate for the cost of living to go down. Yet Americans are not only not getting any relief: They are worse off financially because of Trump’s war, tariffs, and coddling of Russia that’s prolonged the war in Ukraine.
And that’s why Republicans are in for a brutal midterm election season.
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