Republicans who slammed Biden's gas prices are preaching patience for Trump [View all]
Source: MS NOW News
May. 7, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT
Gas prices have risen by more than $1.50 per gallon since President Donald Trump launched attacks against Iran almost 10 weeks ago, and throughout that time, Republican lawmakers have offered a consistent response to the increased costs: It’s a sacrifice we have to make. GOP lawmakers have preached patience with Trump’s war with Iran, insisting that an eventual victory that stops Iran from developing nuclear weapons will be worth it.
But many of those same Republicans were sounding the alarm in 2022 when gas prices spiked under President Joe Biden after Russia invaded Ukraine. “There are trade-offs,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., recently told MS NOW. “I think the American people understand it. They’ve been through conflicts in the Middle East before. They know these prices will come down once the conflict is over.”
That patience stands in stark contrast to Kennedy’s concern about the rise in gas prices during Biden’s presidency as a result of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in early 2022. Even before that war started, Kennedy was criticizing the Biden administration for high gas prices, repeatedly using some version of the line “I don’t like to brag about all the expensive places I’ve been, but earlier today I went to the gas station.”. He used the line at least three times, including in August 2021 (with the average price of gas, according to AAA, at $3.19) and during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2022 (average gas price $3.33).
On Friday, gas prices hit an average of $4.54 per gallon, according to AAA, a 47% increase from the national average of $2.98 shortly before the conflict began. And limited stocks indicate there’s little chance of a swift turnaround. U.S. gasoline stocks totaled 222.3 million barrels during the fourth week of April, the second-lowest total during April in the past decade. But so far, Congress hasn’t taken any action. And aside from waiting for the war to end, there’s no plan to address gas prices in Congress, GOP lawmakers told MS NOW.
Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/republicans-slammed-biden-gas-prices-preaching-patience-trump
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