US President Donald Trump speaks with members of the press before walking to board Marine One at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
On Wednesday, a guest on Fox News explained why President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to ease skyrocketing diesel prices “doesn’t actually change” the situation. According to Aaron Graft – CEO of one of the continent’s largest transportation payment processing companies – there’s no way Trump can solve the problem “with the stroke of a pen.”
Graft was appearing on the show of longtime Fox financial analyst Stuart Varney, who noted, “Truck drivers are facing a huge increase in diesel costs. They’re in trouble.” Asked for details on how the issue is impacting the industry, Graft explained, “The cost is up 67 percent on a gallon of diesel. Practically speaking, what that means is that for a trucker to fill up their truck, it’s costing them $600 more today than it was a year ago.”
The price of diesel and fuel in general has climbed dramatically over the course of Trump’s war with Iran, which shows no signs of ending soon – quite the opposite. In fact, this week has seen a surge of Iranian attacks on commercial ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sinking at least two. As a result, the president is flailing for another solution.
One plan involves purchasing diesel from Russia, which has not only drawn bipartisan condemnation for the fact that it benefits the U.S. adversary at a critical moment in its war against ally Ukraine, but has been blasted as pointless by experts who note the purchase will only cover a tiny fraction of American diesel needs. Another strategy involves lifting a ban on the use of diesel made with red dye, which would theoretically boost supplies, but Graft explained why it will do little to solve the problem.
“The administration has tried to do something with this recent announcement. Everyone realizes it’s a problem, and everyone realizes that higher diesel costs translate into higher transportation costs. But an announcement that we’re going to use red dye diesel,” warned Graft, “doesn’t actually change the fuel distribution network to where these truckers could efficiently get fuel that is cheaper than they can get currently.”
The Trump administration had claimed red dye diesel would arrive in stores last weekend, but according to Graft, “I did not see anything, and I’m sure like most things the truth is in the middle. It might have arrived at some stations, but you’re talking about trying to change an entire supply chain of where diesel ends up across 50 states in this country. You're not going to do that with the stroke of a pen. It may work over time if we stay committed to it, but for now it’s an announcement…it’s not going to change things in the short term.”
The segment follows a string of negative reports in which Fox sounds the alarm about rising fuel costs. Last week, the outlet reported on a wave of trucking companies across the country that have been forced into bankruptcy due to high diesel prices. Then on Tuesday, Varney asserted that "the news on energy is not good," noting that "the price of diesel is an election issue" that has put Trump in "a very tight spot
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