Trump Says High Gas Price a 'Short-Term Pain
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President Donald Trump returned to Texas on Tuesday in a final attempt to bolster Senate candidate Ken Paxton, whose close race in a normally reliable conservative state has Republicans worried about losing control of the chamber.
Trump sought to cast the Democratic challenger James Talarico as too far left for voters and at the same time pleaded for patience over high energy prices, fueled in part by the war in Iran.
High prices that have strained household budgets have become the dominant issue in the election, weighing down Republican candidates in red states such as Texas.
Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to attack Iran, saying it was “one of the greatest things I ever did,” and claiming that prices at the pump would fall once the war is over, even with no clear off-ramp to a conflict now in its eighth month.
“Short-term pain, right, for long-term gain. You’re going to see very soon,” Trump said at a rally in Corpus Christi.
The average price for a gallon of regular was $4.27, according to auto club AAA, up from $2.98 before the war.
The president also hailed an oil tanker arriving at the Corpus Christi port from Venezuela, an effort to showcase energy supplies from the Latin American country. He earlier told reporters he would visit the ship.
Advertisement - Scroll to continueThe Trump administration has touted its control over Venezuela’s natural resources after capturing former leader Nicolás Maduro.
The tanker’s oil came from North American Blue Energy Partners Inc., according to a White House official. The US government holds rights to a 35% stake in the company under the terms of an agreement announced in late August with the Pentagon.
Nabep sold the first one million barrels of oil at no cost to the US, according to the official, who characterized it as an act of good faith. The supplies are headed to refineries in Texas, one run by Citgo in Corpus Christi and an ExxonMobil facility in Baytown, the official said.
The supply from Nabep originated in the Orinico oil belt and was produced at a cost of approximately $30 per barrel, including diluent needed to transport the heavy grade, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the terms of the deal. Brent crude, the global benchmark price for oil, was just below $114 a barrel at the end of regular trading on Tuesday.
“It’ll be refined right here in Texas, including right here in Corpus Christi,” Trump said at the rally. “And you’ll see, it’ll happen very quickly. It’ll be like a blink. Gasoline and diesel prices will soon come down.”
In an effort to mobilize conservative voters in Texas, the president also repeated his attacks on Talarico, including accusations that he is a vegan, opposes gun rights, and supports transgender individuals.
“The only man standing between Texas and this raging lunatic is a man named President Donald J. Trump,” Trump said. “And I need the help of Ken Paxton.”
With Democrats needing to net only four seats to take control of the Senate, the race in Texas has taken on outsized importance and given them hope of achieving a long-sought goal of turning the state blue.
Paxton’s political career includes numerous scandals that have alienated him from fellow party members. Trump endorsed him in the primary contest over incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn, a conservative who has clashed with the president but likely would have had an easier path to reelection.
Trump’s efforts to help Paxton are fueled in part by his desire to keep the Senate in Republican hands and to prove that his backing of a candidate with political baggage did not jeopardize that goal.
Trump has been traveling around the country to help candidates in tight races, most of them in politically red states that he had no trouble winning in the 2024 presidential election. But his low approval ratings have given Democrats a shot at winning seats that earlier would have been unthinkable. Texas has not had a Democrat represent it in the Senate in decades.
Trump held another rally in Lubbock on Tuesday night before his return to Washington.
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