Fact Check: Did Trump claim oil prices are lower now than under Joe Biden?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the rise in gas prices due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump made a post on social media claiming that oil prices are lower than they were during the tenure of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, sparking mockery and confusion.
Let us analyse the president’s post and fact-check its authenticity.
Claim: Oil prices under Donald Trump are lower than under Joe Biden
Trump made the claim as a post on his official Truth Social account in the form of a deceptive chart on Friday, suggesting oil prices are lower than they were upon predecessor Joe Biden’s departure.
The text at the top of the chart claims, “Oil is Down 25% or $30 Per Barrel Since Sleepy Joe.” The chart has two bars: a blue bar labeled “Biden $120” and a much smaller green bar labeled “Trump $90.” An arrow points downward from the “Biden” bar toward the “Trump” bar.
Fact Check: Donald Trump's claim is misleading
However, the claim is false as the price of oil wasn’t anywhere close to $120 when Biden left office.
Crude oil futures closed below $80 per barrel on January 20, 2025, the day of Trump’s second inauguration. On January 17, 2025, the last full trading day under Biden, prices were also low.
In contrast, after oil prices spiked due to the war launched against Iran in late February, US crude traded above $94 per barrel for most of Friday morning. Trump’s chart appears to reference the peak of US crude closing prices under Biden, which reached about $120 per barrel in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
This was more than two years before Trump took office again. The chart does not clarify that the “$120” figure is from 2022 and also misleads readers by stating, “Oil is Down 25% or $30 Per Barrel Since Sleepy Joe,” which gives the false impression that oil prices fell from $120 per barrel after Biden left office.
Reacting to the chart, Former Biden administration economic spokesperson Jesse Lee posted on X, “It just bears repeating: the spike in oil prices under Biden (long gone by when Trump took office) was due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The spike under Trump was due to his own war of choice.”
