Trump Says Gas Prices Were Higher Under Biden — Current Data Show a More Complicated Picture

President Donald Trump says Americans paid substantially more for gasoline under Joe Biden, but current pump prices, historical annual averages and the record-high spike of 2022 reveal a more complicated comparison.

President Donald Trump revived a familiar economic comparison on September 20, writing that gasoline prices were “much higher under Biden than under Trump,” while also making a broader claim about consumer prices.

The statement is real. An archive of Trump’s Truth Social posts shows he published the message at 10:02 p.m., amid renewed political pressure over rising fuel costs before the midterm elections.

Current pump prices complicate that comparison. AAA listed the national average for regular gasoline at about $4.48 a gallon on September 21, more than one dollar above the level a year earlier.

That current figure remains below the all-time national average record of roughly $5.02 reached in June 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency, when global oil markets were disrupted after Russia invaded Ukraine.

However, Biden’s four annual averages were much lower than that temporary peak. EIA data show regular gasoline averaged $3.01 in 2021, $3.95 in 2022, $3.52 in 2023 and $3.30 in 2024.

By comparison, regular gasoline averaged $3.10 in 2025, Trump’s first full calendar year back in office, making that year cheaper than most Biden years but slightly higher than Biden’s 2021 average.

Prices changed sharply in 2026. EIA monthly data show regular gasoline averaging roughly $2.8 in January before rising above $4 in spring and reaching about $4.48 nationally in May.

After easing during early summer, prices climbed again. EIA recorded a national weekly average of $4.32 on September 14, while AAA reported roughly $4.48 by September 21.

AAA says crude oil around $100 a barrel and continuing volatility in the Strait of Hormuz are major reasons pump prices are rising during a season when gasoline normally becomes cheaper.

The Iran conflict has become central to the political debate because disruptions affecting Middle Eastern oil flows have pushed energy costs higher, with diesel prices reaching record levels in September.

Trump himself acknowledged the connection during a September 16 campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina, telling supporters gasoline was higher because of the Iran conflict and defending the added cost.

He described those higher prices as “a very inexpensive price to pay” for preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, while predicting gasoline would eventually fall rapidly once the conflict eased.

That acknowledgment makes the September 20 social-media claim difficult to interpret as a simple present-day comparison, because current gasoline prices are higher than the annual average in every Biden year.

The claim becomes more defensible only when comparing today’s price with Biden’s single highest point in June 2022, rather than comparing annual averages or typical prices across the two presidencies.

Gasoline prices also cannot be attributed entirely to one president. The Energy Information Administration identifies crude oil as the largest component of retail gasoline prices, alongside refining, distribution, taxes and demand.

During Biden’s presidency, the 2022 spike followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, tight global oil supplies and strong post-pandemic demand, before prices declined through 2023, 2024 and 2025.

During Trump’s second term, gasoline initially remained comparatively inexpensive in early 2025 and early 2026, before Middle East hostilities and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz drove another steep increase.

Presidential policies can still influence fuel costs through sanctions, drilling rules, strategic reserves, taxes, environmental regulations and foreign policy, but global crude markets often produce larger short-term movements.

The political significance is growing because affordability remains a major issue for voters, while Republican candidates are campaigning alongside Trump as gasoline and diesel costs rise before November’s midterm elections.

The most accurate reading is therefore nuanced: Biden presided over the higher single-day national record, but Trump’s broad claim that gas was generally “much higher” under Biden is not supported by current average-price comparisons.