On gas prices, Trump recycles a weird argument to pretend bad news is good news

President Donald Trump is again presenting expensive gasoline as a benefit, MS NOW reports, a pitch he first floated about seven months ago and that the White House then abandoned. At a Wednesday rally in Arizona, 20 days before the midterm elections and as early voting begins in many states, he said the country is earning more than ever because oil prices are so high, and he named Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota as places where people are making a fortune.

The argument first surfaced two weeks into the war with Iran, when Trump posted on social media that the United States, as the world's biggest oil producer, takes in a lot of money when prices climb. Usually, he instead tells the public that elevated costs are a price worth paying for the conflict and should ease once it ends.

MS NOW columnist Steve Benen notes that the gains flow mainly to the oil industry, which few Americans have a stake in, so most people are unlikely to cheer. Gas now averages $4.33 a gallon, compared with $3.06 a year earlier, which makes the message a hard sell politically.

Summarized by PolitiKool from MS NOW’s reporting. Read the full story at MS NOW →