President Donald Trump said Friday that Europe has agreed to release some of its diesel reserves “immediately,” as the president and his Republican Party face pressure to address surging prices ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Trump announced the action Friday on social media without offering details on which countries were releasing reserves or at what volumes.
“Europe has just agreed to release a massive amount of their heavily stocked Diesel Oil,” Trump wrote. “The process will begin immediately.”
The president faces lagging approval ratings as the Iran war and his trade battles have increased U.S. prices for oil and other goods.
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Gas prices in the U.S. and abroad have soared during the eight-month-long war, a cost Trump has repeatedly said is worth it for making sure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons. Trump has insisted prices will come down after the war, though there’s no end in sight.
The national average for a gallon of diesel in the U.S. was $6.37 on Friday, according to AAA, after hitting a record $6.52 on Sept. 22.
Trump had a conversation overnight with French President Emmanuel Macron, the chair of the G7, about the need to address rising fuel prices and the availability of petroleum products, according to the French Embassy in the U.S. Macron on Friday then chaired a videoconference of G7 leaders to discuss the issue.
A new AP-NORC poll found that a majority of U.S. adults blame Trump for higher prices, and approval on his handling of the economy hit a new low.
Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with what he sees as a disconnect between his achievements and the public’s view of his work. Trump this week gave himself an A-plus for his work on the economy but said “we’re doing an extremely poor job of promotion.”
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