Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) slammed President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday, accusing the administration of causing fuel prices in the U.S. to surge amid the war with Iran.
Trump Living In An Alternate Dimension
In a post on X, Newsom delivered sharp criticism of the administration, quoting a post by user @Acyn who shared a video of Leavitt, hailing Trump for believing in American “energy dominance” and “bringing down gas prices.”
The Governor outlined the surge in fuel costs at the pump. “Tell that to everyone now paying the skyrocketing gas prices your boss directly caused, Karoline,” he said, adding that gas was up 94 cents/gallon in the past year. “Donald Trump’s administration continues to live in an alternate universe. What a completely detached failure,” he said.
JB Pritzker’s E15 Bet, Peter Schiff’s Warning
As fuel costs surge, Governor Jay Robert ‘JB’ Pritzker (D-IL) backed E15 fuel’s year-round availability to bring costs down. E15 is a type of biofuel that comprises 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol sourced from corn starch. The fuel burns cleaner and is less harmful for the environment, but can also result in expedited degradation of some engine parts.
Meanwhile, Investor and co-founder of Echelon Wealth Partners, Peter Schiff, shared that the U.S.-led blockade on the Strait of Hormuz could be considered an “act of war” by affected nations and that the move could result in Crude oil costs surging to over $150/barrel.
Sean Duffy Criticizes Newsom
Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on the other hand, attacked Newsom, calling the Governor a “climate alarmist” for his opposition to Sable Offshore Corp‘s (NYSE:SOC) pipeline off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, which was shut down after a 2015 oil spill.
He also accused Newsom of letting California be dependent on foreign oil suppliers, as Newsom’s Press Office had earlier criticized the move, saying that the decision to reopen the pipeline puts communities, as well as California's $51 Billion coastal economy, at risk.
Oil, Fuel Costs
Gasoline prices saw another marginal drop on Wednesday, with data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) showing that the national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $4.108, while gas prices in California also declined slightly at $5.878/gallon. Oklahoma continued to have the cheapest fuel price in the U.S. at $3.444/gallon.
On the other hand, Crude remains above $90/barrel as the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude commanded a price of $91.85 per barrel and the Brent Crude oil hovered at the $95.00/barrel mark at the time of writing this article.
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