Famed economist Paul Krugman on Tuesday warned that with “no hint” of President Donald Trump’s unpopular Iran war coming to an end anytime soon, high gas prices could be sticking around for “quite a few months” in America.
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“There’s no relief in sight for people at the gas pump,” Krugman, who won the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, told MS NOW’s Katy Tur.
As the president’s war of choice marches on, the price of oil hit $100 a barrel early Wednesday morning.
The national average of fuel prices continues to rise, as well, with gas hitting $4.22 a gallon and diesel hitting a record high of $5.94 a gallon on Wednesday, per AAA’s figures.
That’s a jump from a year ago when prices were at $3.19 and $3.70 a gallon, respectively.
With the clock ticking down to the midterms, Trump world has attempted to play clean-up crew on the high prices that have soured the president’s approval ratings.
Trump used his Truth Social platform on Monday to insist that oil prices will “drop precipitously,” claiming that gas will first fall to $3 a gallon and “ultimately” sink to below $2 a gallon.
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Krugman noted that while some oil is making its way out of the Strait of Hormuz and other routes in the region, another war — Russia’s conflict with Ukraine — is keeping fuel prices high.
“In some sense, the world is gradually finding ways to get around the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. But on the other hand, that is becoming increasingly less relevant,” he argued.
“So even if somehow, miraculously, love and peace broke out between Donald Trump and the Iranian regime tomorrow, we will probably still have high prices of gasoline and diesel for a long time to come because it’s not the only source.”
Krugman added that it’s a “really screwed-up world” as a result of both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions in their wars.
“People who are thinking that prices are going to drop off, if Trump thinks they’re going to drop precipitously, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that that’s the case,” he said.
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