Krugman says Trump’s fuel-price promises have left him with no viable options
Economist Paul Krugman argues that Donald Trump’s repeated pledges to cut gasoline prices have failed, and his current energy policies lack realistic solutions.
Paul Krugman highlighted that Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to cut gasoline prices by 50 percent within a year, a target that remains unachieved after a year and a half in office. Krugman cited Trump’s recent remarks that higher gas prices are a small price for preventing a hostile nation from acquiring nuclear weapons, a claim he says masks policy failures. Fact-checking shows gas prices never dropped below $2 per gallon even in the first year, contradicting Trump’s claims of success.
Krugman also faulted Treasury official Scott Bessent for blaming Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil for the energy shock and for pursuing a deal to claim a share of Ukraine’s future rare-earth revenues with minimal security guarantees. The economist characterizes these moves as unrealistic and indicative of a broader inability to control the situation, concluding that both Trump and his advisers lack effective options.
Why it matters
The piece underscores how political promises on fuel costs clash with market realities and may shape U.S. energy and foreign policy.
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