President Donald Trump said Wednesday that claims from “fake news networks” that costs of everyday goods are up are incorrect, and insisted that they are actually down.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump claimed, “Gasoline is way down. It’s gonna soon be less than $2 a gallon.”
“It’s around 2.40 in many places,” he added.
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The president's claim is factually incorrect. Prices started around $3.08 in January when Trump assumed office, and have trended upward to ~ $3.15–$3.17 per gallon. In fact, prices rose immediately after inauguration, and now sit a few cents higher than they were in January, reflecting modest increases through spring and summer.
Trump has repeatedly made these incorrect claims in recent months. In April, he said gas prices in “a couple” of unnamed states had dropped to $1.98 per gallon. That was inaccurate. The very next day, he revised it to “three states” having reached $1.98 per gallon — also baseless.
He continued using the “three” figure multiple times in the following weeks, without any factual support. Then, during a July visit focused on immigration in Florida, Trump claimed the number had grown to five states with alleged sub‑$2 gas.
“Gasoline just hit $1.99 today in five states – $1.99, isn’t that a nice sound?” he stated, later adding, “We just hit, in five states, $1.99, $1.98.”The clip from the president's news conference went viral on social media, with many users fact-checking him.
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Meanwhile, the president's Wednesday remarks were promptly fact-checked on social media.
Gas price analyst Patrick De Haan reacted to Trump's claim and wrote on the social platform X: "The national average price of gasoline has held within about 10c/gal of $3.10/gal for virtually all of 2025 and will remain above $2/gal for just about every American (a lucky few perhaps) for the rest of year and likely into next year."
Activist Melanie D'Arrigo wrote: "This man has never been to a gas station to buy or pump his own gas in his entire life."
Journalist Mike Rothschild wrote: "Right around the time our electric bills magically cut themselves in half and we all get free IVF and two dollar plane tickets."
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"Gas just shot up 30 cents yesterday. Maybe he can't see the gas stations clearly from the roof?" wrote a user.