Average US gas prices have topped $5 per gallon across multiple states, putting direct pressure on Trump’s approval among middle-class voters.
The surge is a direct consequence of the Strait of Hormuz closure and rising crude prices. The Trump administration has exhausted its main relief tools and privately acknowledges that elevated prices could persist for months.
In a contradictory move, the administration temporarily lifted sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian oil to ease the supply crunch — effectively buying oil from the very country it is bombing.
