Trump is meeting with oil company CEOs to raise gas prices he just celebrated as a 'massive tax cut'


President Trump is meeting at the White House on Friday with the top executives of some of the largest U.S. oil companies to discuss ways his administration might support the oil and gas industry amid an oil crash. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that he had spoken with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Russia — whose price war combined with a sharp drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic to tank oil prices — and expected them to cut production, which "will be GREAT for the oil and gas industry!" Indeed, oil prices shot up after Trump's tweet and continued rising early Friday.
But higher oil prices mean higher gas prices for consumers, as CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart noted.
Trump embraced that tension at Wednesday's coronavirus press briefing: "Now, gasoline's gonna be 99 cents a gallon and less, you know that. That's already starting, it's popping up — 99 cents. So that's like giving a massive tax cut to people of our country." He also mentioned, "I'm going to meet with the oil companies on Friday," and said, "We don't want to lose our great oil companies."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Tuesday, Trump told the White House press corps that he'll join Russia and the Saudis "at the appropriate time if need be" to work on helping end their price war, explaining, "it's hurtful to one of our biggest industries, the oil industry." In mid-March, meanwhile, Trump said he "would have dreamed about" oil prices this low, adding: "With gasoline prices coming down, that's like a tax cut. Frankly, that's like a big tax cut, not a little tax cut, for the consumer." Tax cuts, it appears, don't solve everything.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
-
Trump set to hit Canada with 35% tariffs
Speed Read The president accused Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney of failing to stop the cross-border flow of fentanyl
-
Could Trump really 'take over' American cities?
Today's Big Question Trump has proposed a federal takeover of New York City and Washington, D.C.
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off