Article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Trump campaigned on fixing the affordability crisis but defends high gas prices as the cost of preventing Iran from building nuclear weapons that his own administration said Tehran is not trying to build.

The American Automobile Association reported Monday that drivers are paying more at the pump than ever before for this point in August as President Donald Trump’s war on Iran continues to disrupt global energy supplies—and he says he won’t apologize for the pain his illegal war of choice is inflicting upon consumers.

AAA said the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.06 on Monday, more than 92 cents higher than a year ago and double the $1.85 recently promised by Trump. The price is the highest ever recorded for mid-August, according to GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan. In California and Hawaii, average prices are approaching—or exceeding—$5.40 per gallon.

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The record gas prices come amid the protracted US-Israeli war on Iran that has killed thousands of people and severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy artery through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies normally pass. According to Reuters, only five vessels traversed the strait Saturday, and none did so Sunday. Brent crude was trading near $89 per barrel on Monday, while West Texas Intermediate was above $82.

While Trump has said the war is “over” or nearly over dozens of times—The Guardian’s Robert Tait recently called the recurrent spectacle his “own Groundhog Day”—Iran currently appears to have the upper hand, as shipping has overwhelmingly avoided the US-supported route through the Strait of Hormuz, with most vessels using a course set by Tehran or eschewing the waterway altogether.

The Guardian reported Monday that US households have collectively spent an additional $56.4 billion on gasoline over the past six months—an average of roughly $477 per home. Meanwhile, major oil companies raked in a combined $90 billion in profits during the second quarter.

Trump, who campaigned on promises to tackle the affordability crisis, has repeatedly defended high gas prices as the cost of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons that every administration since George W. Bush’s—including his own—has said Tehran is not seeking to build.

“For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have… a nuclear weapon,” Trump said Friday during a speech to law enforcement officers in Garden City, New York.

“So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4; it’s OK… I’ll never apologize, I did the right thing,” the president added to raucous applause.

Critics slammed Trump’s remarks, with Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) noting on Monday that, while “Trump’s family got rich off of his failed war,” the American people—including his own supporters—“got screwed.”

“Now he wants to us to smile and accept the higher prices he caused,” she added.

Article by Brett Wilkins republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

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