Trump Voters Blast ‘Ridiculous’ Gas Prices in On-Air Interview: ‘We’re Just Suffering’
Key Takeaways
- •Two Floridians who said they voted for President Donald Trump publicly criticized him on Wednesday over the Iran war and high fuel and grocery prices.
- •MS NOW reporter Alex Tabet conducted the street interviews, and the clip was shared by host Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday morning.
- •One male voter said his opinion of Trump was changing and questioned who benefits from a war in Iran that he believes the United States cannot finish.
- •A woman interviewed separately said gas and grocery prices should not be so high and that people are currently suffering.
- •Gasoline prices track world crude oil markets that are sensitive to Middle East disruptions, leaving U.S. presidents limited direct control over pump prices even as voters hold them accountable.
Two Floridians who previously voted for President Donald Trump publicly criticized him on Wednesday, venting frustration over the Iran war and what they described as “ridiculous” fuel and grocery prices.
The exchange was captured in a clip shared by MS NOW host Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday morning. When MS NOW reporter Alex Tabet asked one self-identified Trump voter about the war, the man responded with an angry rant about gas prices.
“I think what Trump's doing now, I'm kind of having a about-face,” he admitted.
“You know, we started a war over there in Iran we can't possibly finish,” he continued. “You should know more about history — I know you're not going to sort these people out over there.”
“Are you benefiting from this war?” Tabet pressed.
“No!” the Florida man exclaimed. “Who's benefiting from it? Look at fuel prices! We went to Costco yesterday and it was ridiculous. And everything's expensive! Where does it end, right?”
A woman interviewed by Tabet echoed the complaint. “Gas shouldn't be that high, but everything, groceries, everything,” she said.
“We're just suffering right now,” she lamented.
Gasoline prices are among the most visible everyday costs for American consumers, and fuel costs frequently surface in U.S. political coverage. That is partly because pump prices track crude oil, a commodity priced on world markets and historically sensitive to Middle East supply disruptions — from the 1973 Arab oil embargo to the 1990 Gulf War — a dynamic that leaves U.S. presidents with limited direct control over costs at the pump even as voters hold them accountable. The exposure cuts across parties: the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline hit a record above $5 in June 2022, during President Joe Biden's term, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine upended global energy markets, while food-at-home prices that year rose at their fastest annual pace since 1979. Costco, the membership warehouse chain where the man said he had shopped, is widely known for selling discounted gasoline at many of its U.S. locations. Pump-price trends are followed daily through AAA's national averages and weekly in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's gasoline data, standard barometers in economic and political coverage.
Source: Rawstory
