During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed that as president he’d bring gas prices below $2 per gallon, saying specifically that he was aiming for $1.87 per gallon as a “perfect” number. The average gas price is still over $4 a gallon nationwide, but Trump has now unveiled a “deal” with Venezuela that will see the United States taking control of a substantial part of its oil reserves.
In comments from the Oval Office yesterday, Trump explained, “we’re gonna be taking all of that. We’re gonna be taking that oil out,” adding that “we’re making a fortune” now that Exxon and Chevron have entered the country. Trump went on to claim that “there are those who say it’s the greatest deal ever made.”
But, as per CBS News, this deal is likely to bring down gas prices for regular Americans anytime soon. In fact, any benefits might only be felt long after the 80-year-old Trump has not only left the presidency, but potentially this plane of existence.
“There are those who say it’s the greatest deal ever made”
That report points out that the deal relates to 17 undeveloped oil fields in Venezuela that collectively hold 65 billion barrels of crude oil. The substantial wrinkle, according to Global Energy Monitor, is that it’s not as simple as digging an oil well. They say it could take as much as 15 years before Venezuelan oil brings down domestic gas prices.
Even the more optimistic predictions still have Venezuelan oil being viable as something that’s years away. Hilltower Resource Advisors CEO Tracy Shuchart underlined, “Everyone cheering the Venezuela deal that thinks a flood of cheap oil is about to hit and pull gas prices down. It isn’t.” She added, “The barrels that could actually move a US pump price are 5 to 15 years out.”
That’s further complicated by Venezuelan oil being “heavy crude”, which is harder to refine into gasoline than the “light crude” generally refined domestically. Ironically, Trump himself even repeatedly called out this problem in 2024 when the Biden administration announced plans to import Venezuelan oil.
A repeated refrain in Trump’s 2024 campaign speeches was that Venezuelan oil was “tar”. He said, “it’s not even oil it’s tar … from Venezuela we get tar from Venezuela”, that it was the “worst” oil, and that it was “garbage” and “low quality”.
All of this means that any Republican hopes that the Venezuela deal can get gas prices down in time for the crucial November midterms may be a pipe dream. The biggest factor currently driving up gas prices is Trump’s ongoing war with Iran, which doesn’t appear to be coming to an end anytime soon.
Published: Sep 1, 2026 05:14 am