The national average price of diesel reached an all-time high of $6.40 per gallon on Thursday, a nearly 73 percent increase from a year earlier, according to AAA data. The record-setting figure lands as the Trump administration defends its military posture toward Iran and Democrats move to make fuel costs a central issue ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.
AAA pegged the average at $6.3956 per gallon, up sharply from $3.7075 recorded on the same date last year — the highest national average the auto club has ever logged. The surge follows months of escalating energy prices driven by disruptions to global oil supplies.
Trump: a ‘very inexpensive price to pay’
Speaking at a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, President Donald Trump framed the higher pump prices as a modest tradeoff for his administration’s actions against Iran, which he said were aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
“It’s a very inexpensive price to pay for what we’ve done. Remember that,” Trump told the crowd. “It’s a little more. Frankly, even if it was a lot more.”
The president predicted that fuel costs would come down soon and in dramatic fashion, describing the anticipated drop as being “like rocket ships in reverse.”
How prices got here
Diesel began rising after the conflict with Iran started earlier this year, as interruptions to global crude supplies pushed oil prices higher. At the start of February, the average hovered around $3.68, but by mid-March it had jumped to roughly $4.80. The climb accelerated again in recent weeks amid ongoing instability in the Strait of Hormuz, disruptions to Russian fuel flows, and damage to a major Saudi pipeline.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has argued the elevated energy costs won’t last. In an interview broadcast earlier this month, Bessent predicted crude oil could fall as low as $40 per barrel once the war ends, saying the market would be oversupplied on the other side of the conflict.
Gasoline also elevated, but below its 2022 peak
Gasoline prices have climbed alongside diesel. The national average for regular gasoline reached roughly $4.44 per gallon Thursday, up from $3.20 a year ago, according to AAA. That figure remains about 58 cents below the all-time record of $5.0165 set in June 2022.
The distinction matters politically: diesel powers freight, agriculture, and heavy industry, so sustained record diesel costs can feed into the broader price of goods — a dynamic that tends to amplify consumer frustration.
Democrats seize on cost-of-living message
With November’s midterms approaching, Democrats have moved quickly to pin the higher costs on the president. California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media that “the average American family is spending an additional $4,200 every year because of Donald Trump,” a figure drawn from an estimate released by Democrats on the congressional Joint Economic Committee, which calculated the household burden incurred since Trump took office.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) took aim at the administration’s Iran strategy directly. “Trump still can’t explain what this war is for,” he said. “All he’s delivered is higher gas and grocery prices.”
A national poll conducted in June found that about two-thirds of registered voters said fuel costs would likely influence their votes in November — a signal that the issue could weigh on Republican candidates in competitive races.
Political stakes for Republicans
Record diesel prices put Republican candidates in an uncomfortable spot: defending a foreign policy that the president says is necessary while voters feel the cost at the pump and in the checkout aisle. So far, the White House’s message has been that the current prices are temporary and will reverse once the conflict winds down — a bet that hinges on oil markets cooling and on the war’s trajectory in the coming months.
Whether voters accept that argument may depend on how quickly prices fall before November. For now, the numbers at the pump are moving in the opposite direction.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/diesel-prices-hit-all-time-high