Washington D.C — A new article from USA Today highlights President Trump downplaying rising gas prices, calling them an ‘inexpensive price to pay’ for the war in Iran. Gas prices have skyrocketed since the beginning of the war, and working families are feeling pressured to make difficult decisions about everyday expenses as gas prices continue to rise with no signs of stopping. Average gas prices have increased 37 cents from a month ago and more than $1.20 from a year ago.
Gas prices are likely to remain elevated as long as there is ongoing conflict in the Middle East, causing financial hardship for the working class. The House went into a multi-week recess early last week after voting on a war powers resolution, with the majority of Republicans voting – yet again – to allow the war to continue and all Democrats voting to end the war.
AP News: Rising gas prices frustrate voters. Trump says it’s an ‘inexpensive price to pay’ for the Iran war
Key Points:
- President Donald Trump says high gas prices are a “small price to pay” for the ongoing war on Iran.
- The comments came as the average price of gas on Friday, Sept. 18 was $4.46, according to AAA. That’s up from an average of $4.29 one week ago on Sept. 11, and an average of $3.20 on Sept. 18, 2025.
- “It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done. Remember that. It’s a little more. Frankly, even if it was a lot more,” he said. “But that’s going to come tumbling down.”
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans were spending an average of $13,318, or $1,110 per month, which was 17% of their overall expenditures, on transportation at the end of 2024.
- At the beginning of 2026, gas prices were forecasted to average $2.97 for the year, which was down for the 2025 average of $3.12, according to the website GasBuddy.com. Americans were forecasted to spend $2,083 per household on gas this year.
- The national average gas price on Feb. 28, which was the day the United States first launched military strikes against Iran, was $2.98, according to AAA. The last time the weekly average price of gas was below $3.50 a gallon was the week of March 16, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
- According to the BLS, the average weekly salary of full-time workers in the U.S. in 2025 was $1,204, which translates to an average annual salary of $62,608. Using GasBuddy’s math, Americans would now be spending $3,182 per year on gas at the current national average price of $4.46, which is over $1,000 than they were initially forecasted to be paying.
- Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, said in a blog post that gas prices are likely to remain elevated as long as there is an ongoing military conflict in the Middle East.
- “While most of the country transitions to cheaper winter-blend gasoline this week, the scale of ongoing geopolitical escalations makes meaningful price relief unlikely in the near term,” De Haan wrote. “Motorists should brace for continued volatility ahead.”
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Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.