President Donald Trump's long-standing pursuit of what one outlet has described as his "ultimate prize" — the acquisition of foreign oil — has backfired, carrying significant political, economic, and human costs, according to an analysis by MS NOW.

In a piece published Saturday, reporter Joseph Zeballos-Roig argued that Trump's desire to seize oil resources from other nations has been a consistent theme throughout his political career, predating his first term as president, and has been evident in his recent military actions against Venezuela and Iran.

"Long before becoming president of the United States, Donald Trump coveted other nations' oil fields," Zeballos-Roig wrote. "In years past he's talked about America seizing oil in Libya and Iraq after those wars ended, arguing that anything less than full-on resource acquisition was a boneheaded mistake. Trump seems determined to correct that supposed error in his second term — no matter the costs to his country and party."

Trump has previously called for the seizure of oil in Libya and Iraq.

At an event in Las Vegas, Trump boasted about "taking a lot of oil from Venezuela" following the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, claiming the United States has "paid for the war with what we've taken out many, many, many times." He also invoked the imperialist maxim "To the victor belong the spoils" — the same phrase he used in April to justify his war against Iran.

"For Trump, oil is the ultimate prize to win. In his zero-sum world, he is the oilman-in-chief," Zeballos-Roig continued. "The president's unyielding belief in displaying hard power against Venezuela, Iran and beyond, coupled with a conquistador's appetite for plunder, does come with real consequences."

Those consequences have been political as well as economic. Trump is contending with what Zeballos-Roig described as his worst approval ratings of either term, driven in part by rising gas prices tied to the Iran war. Iran is one of OPEC's largest oil producers, and conflicts involving major petroleum-exporting nations have historically sent shockwaves through global energy markets, translating quickly into higher prices at the pump for American consumers. A Pew Research Center survey conducted last month recorded a 34 percent approval rating. His management of inflation has drawn particular disapproval, with spiking gasoline prices a major factor.

The national average price of a gallon of gas crossed back above $4 per gallon just over two weeks ago — a psychologically and politically significant threshold that has dogged administrations of both parties — and most Americans hold the president responsible for higher prices at the pump, according to polling.

The human toll has also mounted. According to reports, eighteen U.S. soldiers have been killed in the Iran war, along with at least 1,700 Iranian civilians. The erosion of public support for military conflicts as casualties rise has been a well-documented pattern in American politics, from Vietnam through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Zeballos-Roig warned that the death toll could rise further, citing what he described as half-hearted efforts to move beyond the ceasefire toward diplomatic negotiations that could end the conflict.

Despite Trump's assertions about Venezuelan oil, production has only marginally increased since the U.S. takeover, rising to 1.1 million barrels per day from 900,000 barrels per day during the same period a year earlier. The modest increase underscores the difficulty of rapidly scaling up output in a country whose oil infrastructure has suffered years of underinvestment, corruption, and sanctions-related decay. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, yet production has collapsed from over 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s. Major American oil companies have reportedly been reluctant to participate in Venezuela despite the president's insistence — a reluctance consistent with an industry that typically demands stable legal frameworks, clear sanctions environments, and long-term certainty before committing the billions of dollars required to rehabilitate aging oil fields and refineries.

As Trump's push for foreign oil continues to falter, Zeballos-Roig concluded that the president is gambling with the "high price of his military adventurism," with voters appearing poised to penalize him and the Republican Party in the forthcoming midterm elections.