Trump's War in Iran Fuels Record Oil Profits as He Demands Companies 'Give Some Back' to the Public

US President Donald Trump recently criticized ExxonMobil and Chevron for making too much money after both companies reported huge quarterly earnings. The two energy giants collectively booked nearly $27 billion in profits over the past three months, partly due to Trump's war in Iran that disrupted the global oil supply chain.

The companies' record-breaking earnings are largely a result of Trump's policies, which have made it easier for them to keep a larger share of their profits. Chevron's profit for the last quarter was $12.1 billion, its largest three-month tally ever, while ExxonMobil reported an even larger $14.5 billion profit in the quarter, its second-largest haul in the company's history.

Despite these huge earnings, Trump's policies have allowed the companies to avoid paying taxes on more than half of their profits. In the five years between 2021 and 2025, ExxonMobil and Chevron collectively raked in $124 billion of U.S. income and paid an effective federal tax rate of just 7.4 percent.

Trump's criticism comes as the price of gas is now roughly double what it was when Joe Biden left office, with Trump's policies clearly responsible for this increase. Playing the economic populist card is all Trump can do to give the impression that he cares about working families, but complaining about windfall profits while defending the government policies that helped produce them isn't economic populism, it's lying.