Gas Under Trump Now Averages $3.472 a Gallon, Edging Past Biden’s Mark

Regular gasoline has averaged $3.472 a gallon since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, edging past the $3.471 average for Joe Biden’s term, according to AAA data, Reuters reported.

The gap is less than a penny, but it lands a week before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as Republicans defend narrow majorities in both the House and the Senate.

Diesel, which powers trucks, farm equipment and freight shipping, shows a wider gap. It has averaged $4.343 a gallon under Trump, compared with $4.078 under Biden, and hit a record $6.523 on Sept. 22.

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which began in late February, has squeezed global crude and fuel supplies. Much of the fighting has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for world oil and gas.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said, “Once this conflict comes to an end, gas prices will drop drastically,” adding that “more oil is now flowing out of the Persian Gulf than before the Iran conflict began.”

Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed Middle East oil exports, including Hormuz flows, reached 24.6 million barrels a day in the week to Oct. 18, the highest since the war broke out.

Trump had pledged during the 2024 campaign to bring gasoline below $2 a gallon, Bloomberg noted. Biden still holds the record for the highest daily national average, which topped $5 a gallon in June 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trump Points to Oil Industry Gains

At a rally in Georgia on Saturday, Trump called oil prices “temporarily high” and said the U.S. oil and gas business “is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” Business Insider reported.

“I don’t give a damn, I’m going to say it — we’re making a freaking fortune,” Trump said.

Regular gas averaged $4.29 a gallon around the time of the rally, up from $2.98 the day before the war began. Diesel stood at $6.35, up from $3.75.

At the same rally, Trump said drivers are “still paying lower than” they did under Biden and Obama. PolitiFact rated that claim Half True.

The fact-checker found the national average has topped $4 a gallon for more than 30% of Trump’s second term, compared with about 11% of Biden’s tenure and 7% of Barack Obama’s weeks in office.

But it also found that a typical weekly purchase of 10 gallons now takes a smaller share of disposable income than it did in seven of Obama’s eight years and three of Biden’s four years.

“Americans are still not paying record amounts of their income on filling up their tanks,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told Reuters.

Election Day comparisons may sting. Drivers paid an average of $3.80 a gallon on Election Day 2022, which De Haan called the priciest on record, and $3.10 on Election Day 2024, Forbes reported.

The administration has pointed to steps including drawing down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily suspending the Jones Act, and the Energy Department has set aside $150 million for refinery investment, Quartz reported.

Fuel costs are weighing on the president’s standing. A Reuters/Ipsos poll published Oct. 19 put Trump’s approval at 31%, the lowest of either term, with 23% approving of his handling of the economy.

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