(March 26, 2026)
Few economic indicators hit voters as fast or as visibly as the price of gasoline. Academic research stretching back decades confirms what political operatives have long understood intuitively: when gas prices rise sharply, presidential approval falls, and when approval falls heading into a midterm, the president’s party loses seats. That chain is being tested dramatically right now.
(September 14, 2026)
If Democrats manage to take back the House and Senate in November despite an inhospitable electoral map, the Trump effect on gas prices may well be the reason.
(October 1, 2026)
Alles nur, weil Trump seine Umfragewerte mit einem kurzen Militär-Quickie im Iran pushen wollte. Das jedoch löste eine destruktive Kettenreaktion sondergleichen aus, wie ein Elefant, nein, eine Atombombe im Porzellanladen. Diese Ära wird in ein paar Jahren zumindest gute Serien auf Netflix oder HBO erzeugen, und man wird sich fragen, wie zum Teufel ein Mensch wie Trump je an die Macht kommen konnte.
President Trump signed an executive order on Friday night exempting Russia from a new sanctions measure that Congress passed last month, offering another economic lifeline to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as the United States turns to Russia for help in lowering gas prices.
Trump’s unexpected decision comes a week after he stunningly said the U.S. had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices.
The move to temporarily restrict the vital communications system came as President Donald Trump has pressured Kyiv to stop its attacks on Russian refineries, which he has blamed for the soaring energy prices that are denting his Republican Party‘s prospects in the November midterm elections.
But experts say that surge in energy costs is mainly the result of the US-Israeli war with Iran, which brought Iranian attacks on energy facilities and has largely shut the vital Strait of Hormuz.
(October 7, 2026)
The US said on Wednesday it had seized 90 separate shipments of biodiesel bound for Cuba worth nearly $3 million, the second time in a week US authorities have announced the seizure of „illegal“ fuel en route to the island nation.
(September 14, 2026)
If Democrats manage to take back the House and Senate in November despite an inhospitable electoral map, the Trump effect on gas prices may well be the reason.
It comes as the president faces growing pressure to address concerns over mounting energy costs due to global fuel shortages during the U.S.’s military operations against Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war.
(September 30, 2026)
Recent comprehensive reports provide information about the origins, substance, methods, objectives, and impact of U.S. measures against Cuba, the economic blockade, in particular.
Two of them appear with support from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), and Cuba’s Foreign Ministry produced two more. Finally, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council on Sept. 8 heard Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan’s report on “Unilateral Coercive Measures.”
Cuba suffered a total blackout after the collapse of its electrical grid on Friday. The blackout is the latest of at least six partial or total grid collapses since the beginning of this year, as the island grapples with an ongoing US fuel blockade.
“There are foreign companies that have yielded to this pressure and have withdrawn from the country. Others remain and continue working with us,” the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
According to Pérez-Oliva, the intensification of the blockade has severed Cuba’s banking and financial relations with numerous institutions and imposes a trade embargo through direct threats against international shipping companies.
The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment explained that Cuba has containers being held in international ports because some shipping companies have suspended services to the island, while others are operating under “restrictions imposed illegally and unilaterally by the United States.”
The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in the United States hit an all-time high average price of $5.85 on Friday as the Trump administration’s war on Iran and its resulting disruptions to the global energy market showed no signs of ending.
(August 28, 2026)
(August 31, 2026)
In his address, Merkley outlined the severe consequences of the conflict, saying it has failed to control nuclear materials while at the same time has strengthened Iranian hardliners, fractured alliances, and enriched Russia. He also highlighted the human and military costs, pointing to deaths and injuries among U.S. service members and depleted domestic munitions.
Since the start of the war on February 28th, 18 service members have died and 757 have been wounded. Furthermore, Merkley warned that the war is financially pressing Americans against the wall as skyrocketing gas, diesel, and fertilizer prices hit families and farmers hard.
“At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump’s emphasis on lowering American gas prices, almost two months before the US midterm elections, comes as the national average gas price sits at more than $4 a gallon.
Vice President JD Vance discusses how the GOP can combat socialist support on ‘The Will Cain Show.
Vance‘s comments also underscored the growing reality that the war now centers on control of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has forced to the top of the negotiating agenda.
„I know that oil is down today and it‘s way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict,“ Vance said on Fox News. „That‘s goal number one — keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country.“
„And then obviously goal number two is ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon,“ he added.
The vice president has been among the members of the administration most skeptical of the offensive launched against Iran in late February.
Asked about the setbacks in negotiations with Iran, Vance cited two factors: “Number one, the Iranians are extraordinarily difficult people. Number two, they have a fractured system.”
“There are people within their system that want the war to be over and there are also people in their system that are crazy radicals who want the war to continue,” he said.
“Our job is to navigate through that and get the best outcome for the American people and for the President of the United States as well.”
Fox News host Will Cain pressed Vice President JD Vance on Thursday about the war in Iran, arguing that “frustration” is growing over the “seesaw nature” of the ongoing conflict.
“Let’s talk for a minute about Iran. There is frustration, Mr. Vice President, I think, out there on the seesaw nature of what’s going on in Iran,” Cain began, asking:
Wenn GECOMEX keine derartigen Maschinen und Ausrüstung importieren kann, sind seine Tochtergesellschaften nicht in der Lage, Agrarrohstoffe wie Weizen und Bohnen effizient zu verarbeiten. Dies führt wiederum dazu, dass weniger Grundnahrungsmittel ihren Weg in die kubanischen Haushalte finden.
Die Sanktionen gegen den Hafenbetreiber GEMAR sind noch gravierender: Sie verursachen Compliance-Risiken für jedes Schifffahrtsunternehmen, das Liegegebühren in Kuba zahlt. Mehr als 7.000 Container mit Bestimmungsort Havanna sind daher aktuell in der Karibik gestrandet, nachdem Unternehmen wie Hapag-Lloyd und CMA CGM aufgrund der rechtlichen Unsicherheit ihre Aktivitäten in Kuba vorerst eingestellt haben.
In July, the US State Department announced a round of broad economic sanctions against Cuba targeting industries that have historically been spared, limiting the Cuban government’s ability to purchase agricultural commodities and food processing equipment from third countries by singling out Cuba’s state importer (GECOMEX) and port operator (GEMAR).
This is happening in the context of America’s monthslong oil blockade against Cuba, which has already immiserated the general population by impeding basic sanitation and food safety and has killed scores of patients in Cuban hospitals. A US congressional delegation that visited in early July described the situation on the ground as a “silent Gaza.”
(June 8, 2026)
The U.S. declaration of a national emergency in January disrupted fuel shipments to Cuba, severely reducing the country‘s fuel reserves by mid-May. This depletion has led to daily blackouts that now frequently exceed 20 hours. Additional sanctions were imposed in May, including some with extraterritorial effect on private entities, such as traders, insurers, tourism or shipping companies, financial institutions, and others involved in fuel supply or engaged with the country‘s energy, defence, mining, finance, and security sectors.
These measures, combined, are significantly affecting the population’s human rights, notably their access to essential supplies and services, including water, food and healthcare.
It is worth recalling that the conflict did not begin over disputes about the Strait of Hormuz. As recently as February 28, commercial ships transited the waterway without restriction.
(…)
With the US maintaining the naval blockade during the ceasefire period, Iran responded by stopping and, in several cases, attacking vessels attempting to cross the Strait without its approval. Insurance rates spiked, shipping lines rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope, and transit times increased by up to three weeks.
Wars of this nature benefit no party in the long term, and they rarely reach a logical conclusion. Their primary victims are innocent civilians who have no role in the conflict. Many civilians in Iran and Lebanon have lost their lives directly to strikes.
Around one-fifth of global oil supplies and large volumes of liquefied natural gas move through the narrow waterway, making it one of the world‘s most important maritime chokepoints. Any disruption can quickly affect fuel prices, shipping costs and inflation worldwide.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow passage with global consequences. A proposed U.S. toll would mark a sharp escalation after recent strikes and a fragile interim deal with Iran.
“Average gasoline prices fell in 47 states over the last week, with the national average dropping below $4 per gallon late Sunday for the first time since mid-April,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The decline came as oil prices moved sharply lower in reaction to news of a potential deal between the United States and Iran, though it remains to be seen whether the agreement will hold.
Just 26 percent of voters said they were satisfied with the Democratic Party.
The discontent includes a significant number of Democrats who expressed reservations about their own party. Forty-four percent of Democrats described themselves as unsatisfied, while just 23 percent of Republicans said the same about their party.
“They’re just not fighting back hard enough in my eyes,” said Matthew Berryhill, 35, a recruiter from Marietta, Ga., a pivotal battleground area in the state’s key Senate race this year, who described himself as a progressive Democrat. “They come out with strong statements and strong words, and no action to back it up.”
Gas prices in the United States, up by 50% since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, have soared as the global oil supply constricts.
Now at a national average of more than $4.50 per gallon, according to data from motor club AAA, this price increase is straining already-stretched budgets in households across the country.
Gasoline accounts for a shrinking share of household budgets, but its political power can still make or break a presidency.
(April 12, 2026)
Mr. Trump had long downplayed a sharp spike in gas prices driven by the war in Iran by casting it as a “short-term increase” that would subside within weeks. But on Sunday, Mr. Trump told Fox News that while he hoped gas and oil costs would drop before the midterms, prices “should be around the same” in November — and might be “a little bit higher.”
But, the sources cautioned, the US government may not be able to definitively determine who was responsible because of a lack of forensic evidence left by the hackers.
CNN has requested comment on the ATG hack from the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The FBI declined to comment.