Ledger · 2024 campaign · № 216

Gasoline below $2 a gallon

Never delivered
“We're going to get gasoline below $2 a gallon.”
Promised
, Economic Club of New York
Re-promised
15 times with a fresh deadline
Topic
Economy & prices
Era
2024 campaign

What happened

Gas never approached $2. PolitiFact rated the promise Stalled at the one-year mark. After the U.S.-Iran war began Feb. 28, 2026, pump prices spiked: gasoline jumped 21.2% in a single month in March 2026, hit a record $4.15 a gallon over Labor Day 2026 (up 30% year over year), and reached $4.29 by mid-September 2026. Trump reframed $3 gas as a reasonable price to pay for the Iran war.

Sources

  1. MAGA-Meter: Reduce the cost of gasoline below $2 a gallon PolitiFact, Jan 20, 2026
  2. Trump promised $2 gas... Now he says $3 gas is the reward for winning the war with Iran — and you're paying $4.15 Moneywise, Sep 8, 2026
  3. Biden's Rotten Eggs Are Now Trump's Gas Problem Newsweek, Apr 15, 2026
  4. Trump made gas prices a political weapon. Now he's downplaying the pain. MS NOW, Jun 1, 2026