If it seems like prominent Republican voices are talking about gas prices a lot less lately, there’s a good reason for that. MarketWatch reported:
Gasoline prices showed an early decline on Monday, with the average price of fuel at the pump falling below $3 per gallon for the first time since May 10, 2021, after falling for seven straight weeks, according to GasBuddy. That finally happened after 1,300 days and “we will probably enjoy these prices from time to time during the holidays,” says Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
Let’s not forget that during President Joe Biden’s term in office, a number of Republican officials accused the Democratic White House of deliberately pushing up prices at the pump. That never made any sense – there’s no reason why Biden would want this – but such talk now seems even sillier.
As for what’s likely to happen to gas prices in the near future, Donald Trump’s campaign promises are sticking around for a reason. The New York Times recently reported:
President-elect Donald J. Trump repeatedly promised voters that he would halve energy and electricity prices within 18 months of taking office. His transition team is only now working on a strategy to achieve this, according to three people familiar with the discussions who requested anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
In other words, if the Republican president-elect is right, American consumers should expect gas prices to drop a lot of over the next year and a half.
However, that is of course difficult to take seriously. The Times report added: “But energy industry experts noted that a president has limited tools to influence how much Americans pay at the pump, and even less influence when it comes to electricity prices. More than a dozen experts said Trump’s strategy might succeed in lowering prices, but not enough to achieve his goal.”
Those who follow Republicans’ many bold campaign promises should keep this in mind.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
