Trump Blasts Exxon and Chevron for 'Making Too Much Money' Amid Gas Price Hikes
President Donald Trump publicly criticized two of America's largest oil companies, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, for making 'too much money' amid rising gas prices. According to a Politico report on Monday, Trump urged both companies to lower retail gasoline prices for American consumers immediately.
The average U.S. retail gasoline price has hovered near $4.10 per gallon recently, with prices sitting below $3 before the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran in February. Both companies' executives warned that limited refining capacity could keep prices elevated through the fall.
Trump specifically targeted Exxon Mobil and Chevron after they reported strong quarterly earnings on Friday. He accused them of 'making too much money' due to a shortage, saying 'they ought to give some of that back to the public.' Trump also demanded that both companies 'better cut the retail price, the consumer price.'
Trump's remarks mark a rare rebuke of the oil industry from the self-described 'big free enterprise guy.' He ordered the Justice Department to investigate big oil companies in late June, accusing them of not lowering gasoline prices fast enough as crude oil costs weakened.