Trump reportedly vowed to help oil executives — and now he’s whining about their profits

Donald Trump is effectively running a psyop to combat political headwinds of his own creation.

While campaigning for president in 2024, the president reportedly promised oil executives that he would grant their policy wishes and help them rake in massive profits if they gave to his campaign. Some of the executives made donations, and Trump has since broadly acted in the industry’s favor.

But now, as polling shows widespread discontent with his deadly war with Iran, Trump is trying — unconvincingly — to portray himself as a foil to Big Oil while the industry makes a killing.

Sitting in the Oval Office on Monday, the president told reporters he thought Exxon Mobil and Chevron have made “too much money” from the Iran war.

“They’re going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price,” he said.

There’s no reason to believe these remarks were about anything other than saving face as Trump’s war with Iran rages on and devastates the global economy with no end in sight. After all, the president has openly touted the ability for corporations and the people running them to make money from his war — as his family has done.

In June, Trump said he was “very proud” of launching the war, going on to tout the stock market and declare that “everybody’s making a lot of money.” He also recently responded to a Fox News reporter asking if he was concerned about the war’s economic impact by again touting corporate profits.

“We’re making a lot of money. The defense companies are doing great,” he said.

For the record, Trump’s two oldest sons have invested in defense companies. He has said these things while repeatedly dismissing Americans’ worries about affordability, even going so far as to call the issue “phony” and a “hoax.”

It’s also worth noting that even the “Freedom Fuel” network the White House has marketed as discounted gas at a small number of stations — effectively, a publicity stunt with minimal effect on national gas prices — has been shrouded in secrecy and marred by concerns of cronyism.

So ask yourself: Is this the behavior of someone who legitimately cares about American consumers? And is it truly believable that Trump, of all people, is averse to corporate greed?

Or is his fairly meek critique of Big Oil part of a populist charade designed to quell the political backlash he has conjured up with his warmongering ways?

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