Barack Obama left the White House in January 2017. Nearly a decade later, Republican Rep. Rich McCormick has pulled him into the conversation about Americans’ rising fuel bills, drawing online ridicule as the Iran conflict continues disrupting energy supplies.
During a September 30 appearance on Newsmax, the Georgia congressman claimed there had been a planned “permanent elevation in gas prices during the Obama administration.” He also described current prices as artificially inflated and predicted the increase would be temporary. His remarks offered no detailed explanation connecting Obama’s policies to today’s surge.
The response online came quickly, with critics highlighting the years separating Obama’s presidency from the current crisis. The expanding list of political targets, including Obama, Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fed jokes about Republicans turning fuel costs into a televised blame game.
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser also pointed toward Ukraine and Biden while discussing diesel prices on Fox Business, according to reporting on his appearance. Those arguments arrive as the Trump administration faces pressure to bring costs down ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The supply problems have several immediate sources. Reuters reports that the Iran war has reduced availability, while disruptions to refining, including Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities, have further strained diesel supplies. Trump said Wednesday that he continues considering a diesel export ban.
The squeeze reaches well beyond a driver’s next fill-up. Diesel powers trucks, farm equipment and the delivery networks businesses depend on. Higher operating costs can work their way into household expenses.
For Republicans, the political challenge is explaining how their policies will deliver relief. Every expensive trip to the pump gives voters another reason to scrutinize those answers before casting their ballots.
