Trump’s gas price demand set a target of $2.50 per gallon for US fuel retailers on Monday evening, a figure that Forbes points out sits below the roughly $2.93 national average that prevailed before the US-Iran war began in February, meaning the president is demanding prices cheaper than the pre-conflict baseline.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump told retailers to ‘start targeting around the $2.50 a gallon number’ and threatened unspecified consequences if they failed to act. ‘There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal,’ he wrote, apparently referring to price gouging. ‘If retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!’
The Gap Behind Trump’s Gas Price Demand
The national average on Monday stood at $3.86 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). By Tuesday 1 July, the AAA tracker cited by Forbes put it at $3.85, down from $4.02 the prior week. That leaves a gap of more than $1.35 between where prices are now and where Trump wants them.
The distance is even larger when set against the recent peak. AAA data from the week of 4 June 2026 shows the national average reached $4.241, itself down from $4.426 the prior week, with crude oil still trading below $100 per barrel at that point. Prices began falling after the US and Iran opened peace talks, and AAA confirmed the national average dipped to $3.999 in the week of 18 June 2026, the first reading below $4 since 30 March, driven partly by a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Chevron’s finance chief Eimear Bonner, speaking to CNBC on Thursday, acknowledged the direction of travel but cautioned against expecting an immediate shift. ‘It’s going to take time, though. There is a lag between, you know, oil prices and reductions in oil prices, and when that shows up at the pump, but we expect that prices will come down as things continue to normalize,’ Bonner told CNBC.
California Faces a Tax Rise on Top of High Pump Prices
Trump singled out California by name, warning the state to stop imposing heavy taxes on petrol. The timing is pointed: California’s gas tax rate rose from 61.4 cents per gallon to 63.4 cents per gallon on 1 July. The state already carries the second-highest pump prices in the country at $5.45 per gallon, behind only Hawaii at $5.49.
According to The Desert Sun, California’s average was approximately $5.48 per gallon in late June 2026, and the July 1 increase is expected to add roughly $0.22 per week in costs for a typical driver.
The administration has also moved on domestic supply. Al Jazeera reports that the Trump administration invoked emergency powers to restart a California oil pipeline that had been shut since a major spill in 2015, as part of its broader push to raise domestic fuel output.
Monday’s post was not the first time Trump had pressed the energy industry publicly. On 24 June 2026, he wrote on Truth Social that oil companies were ‘not dropping their price at the pump commensurate with the sharply lower prices they are paying for Oil,’ adding that he had instructed the Justice Department to investigate. That post came roughly a week before his demand directed at retailers rather than producers.
Trump’s gas price demand now puts retailers on notice ahead of what is typically the busiest driving period of the American summer. Whether crude prices fall far enough, and fast enough, to close a gap of more than $1.35 per gallon will be the test that matters.