President Donald Trump said Monday that Energy Secretary Chris Wright was “wrong” for claiming gas prices might not fall below $3 per gallon anytime soon.
Wright was interviewed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” Sunday and was asked when prices are expected to dip again.
“I don’t know,” he replied. ” That could happen later this year. That might not happen till next year. But prices have likely peaked, and they’ll start going down.”
“Certainly with a resolution of this [Iran] conflict, you’ll see prices go down,” Wright added. “Prices across the board on energy prices will go down.”
“But it might not be under under $3 a gallon until 2027?” Tapper shot back.
Wright replied, “Under $3 a gallon is pretty tremendous in inflation-adjusted terms. We had that in the Trump administration, but we hadn’t seen that, in inflation-adjusted terms, for quite a long time. We’ll get back there, for sure.”
The commander in chief spoke with The Hill’s White House correspondent, Julia Manchester, Monday morning and told her Wright was incorrect.
NEWS: President Trump just told me over the phone that he disagrees with Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s assessment that gas prices may not drop until next year.
“No, I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” Trump said.
— Julia Manchester (@JuliaManch) April 20, 2026
“NEWS: President Trump just told me over the phone that he disagrees with Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s assessment that gas prices may not drop until next year,” she wrote on the social media site X. “No, I think he’s wrong on that. Totally wrong,” Trump told her.
Asked when he expects fuel prices to fall again, the president said, “as soon as this ends,” referring to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gas Monday was just above $4 per gallon.
The price spike began after the United States launched “Operation Epic Fury,” and has been worsened by mixed signals and chaos related to the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is a vital waterway for shipping fuel internationally.
It was declared open for commercial traffic by Iran on Friday after a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Lebanon.
The news came amid a U.S. military blockade of Iran. The waterway was deemed closed, however, only one day later, on Saturday, prompting Trump to order the seizure of Iranian vessels and oil tankers.
After Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it would block any ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, American forces ramped up their naval crackdown on any ships linked to Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that “The Trump administration’s decision to step up the economic pressure on Tehran is intended to force the regime to re-open the strait and make concessions on its nuclear program, which has been the focus of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.”
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