Yes
He is.
No
He isn’t.
Energy prices are once again putting pressure on American consumers, businesses, farmers, and transportation companies, while President Donald Trump faces growing questions about how his administration is handling the situation.
Oil markets have been volatile amid continuing conflict involving the United States and Iran and disruptions and uncertainty surrounding Middle Eastern energy supplies. Oil prices moved higher again this week as tensions intensified, although prices have also experienced sharp declines on days when markets anticipated greater supplies or diplomatic progress.
The effects are not limited to crude-oil traders. Higher energy costs can eventually affect gasoline, diesel, airline travel, shipping, farming, manufacturing, and household expenses.
The issue has become politically significant as well. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have pressed the administration over rising fuel costs. Maine Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, recently urged President Trump to release emergency heating-oil supplies as diesel prices climbed.
Some critics place responsibility on Trump’s foreign-policy decisions, particularly the ongoing conflict with Iran. Supporters of the president argue that global oil markets depend on many factors outside any president’s direct control, including decisions by foreign producers, wars, refinery capacity, shipping routes, and worldwide demand.
Presidents frequently receive political credit when gasoline prices decline and criticism when they increase, even though no administration controls the global price of crude oil by itself.
For voters, the question is ultimately whether the administration’s energy and foreign policies are helping control costs—or whether Americans should expect President Trump to take different steps.