President Donald Trump is being ripped to shreds after he bragged—by all accounts, erroneously—that gas prices had cratered to less than $2 per gallon .
“Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning, touting the unsourced claim as evidence that the economy was flourishing under his tariffs.
Fact-checkers at CNN, PolitiFact, and CBS News were quick to undercut the president, observing that the lowest average gas price of any state was $2.66, in Mississippi, while the national average was $3.19, according to the American Automobile Association.
Trump has repeated the figure several times in the past few weeks. On Thursday night, speaking to graduates of the University of Alabama, the number hit its lowest point yet: $1.88.
Trump: Gasoline prices just hit 1.88 a gallon in three states. Can you believe it? pic.twitter.com/NT5LS98AQr
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 2, 2025
“You can’t believe it, or at least you shouldn’t,” CNN’s Daniel Dale wrote, while Laura Doan of CBS News observed that “gas prices are around the same as when the president took office in January.”
Social media users had a field day with the $1.98 claim.
“It must be in the middle of nowhere because GasBuddy still has zero price reports of this mythical $1.98 gas station,” wrote Patrick De Haan, a gas analyst for the site GasBuddy.
X user “Baddie” posted a photo of a Phillips 66 station selling gas for $2.89 a gallon and wrote, “Brb. Gonna go tell these guys Trump says gas is under $1.98.”
Brb. Gonna go tell these guys Trump says gas is under $1.98 pic.twitter.com/NeK9Tww2Z7
— Baddie (@tinfoilbaddie) May 2, 2025
Some online commentators, like @CombatEngDC, suggested that Trump’s insistence on pushing the number would make him seem out of touch to Americans.
“Saying gas is 1.98, groceries down, etc. when the working person knows it’s bullsh-t, is not a winning strategy,” they wrote. “No matter how many times it’s repeated.”
Some users defended Trump’s seemingly outrageous claim, arguing that he was actually referring to gasoline futures, which on Friday were trading at around $2 a gallon, rather than the price at the pump.
“The only number that is standard is to look at wholesale and/or futures prices,” wrote user @dmitchellrep. “And that’s the language of business, To consumers it varies WILDLY based on corporate profits, state taxes, federal taxes, local market demand, etc.”
For those not understanding.Gas really is at $2Eggs really are down to $3Sugar is even down, etc….The only number that is standard is to look at wholesale and/or futures prices. And that’s the language of business.To consumers it varies WILDLY based on corporate… pic.twitter.com/UObIrLzTaB
— Dan_TheSPEAR_Man (@dmitchellrep) May 2, 2025
Nowhere has the president indicated that he was referring to anything other than the consumer gasoline price.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
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