Trump Blames Biden for Skyrocketing Energy Prices During Ireland Visit
Left 0%
Center 50%
Right 50%
0 left · 1 center · 1 right
What happened
On September 14, 2026, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that price increases across America were caused by former President Joe Biden and the Biden administration, not by Trump. He said oil had been higher under Biden than at present, that prices were coming down sharply aside from a temporary exception for oil, and that oil would fall after a U.S. military conflict with Iran ended. AAA put the national average that Monday at about $4.31 a gallon for regular unleaded and $6.23 for diesel; crude oil was around $101 a barrel, below an April high of about $112. Over the same weekend Trump visited Ireland as gasoline rose 16 cents from the prior week to that $4.31 average. Trump also said Iran wanted a deal and that he did not expect the conflict to last long after the midterms.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
1 of 1 article cites a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 1 of 1
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Donald Trump
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 1
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 1
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 1
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- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 14, 20:17 UTC by OAN, naming its source.
- Not counted 2
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
The Hill reported it on 2026-09-08.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has not reported President Trump's claim that Biden caused current energy price increases. Right-leaning coverage puts that assignment of blame at the center of the story. The president's post, carried by OAN, said the increases were caused by "Sleepy Joe Biden" rather than by him. A reader of the silent side therefore never sees the president pin today's pump prices on the prior administration.
Right-leaning coverage leads with that blame and treats the oil spike as a short-term exception. The same OAN report highlighted Trump's promise that oil will "drop like a rock" once the Iran conflict is over. Left-leaning coverage, being silent, supplies no competing account of who is responsible for the surge.
What share of current pump prices does anyone covering this story attribute to Biden-era policy rather than to the Iran war still underway?
Bottom line
OAN is carrying Trump's post blaming Biden for energy prices it lists at $4.31 a gallon; left-leaning coverage has not reported that post.
The receipts — 3 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Trump said price increases throughout America were caused by Biden and the Biden Administration, not by Trump
- National average for regular unleaded about $4.31
- Overall prices remain below the 2022 record spikes reached under the Biden administration
The Right View
One America News Network reported Trump’s Truth Social posts as him setting the record straight and placing energy-cost responsibility on Biden’s policies. OAN quoted the posts, cited the AAA averages, noted that current prices remained below 2022 record spikes under Biden, and relayed Trump’s claims that oil would drop after the Iran conflict, that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to stop striking energy targets, and that Iran wanted a deal. CBS News reported Trump’s Ireland trip amid skyrocketing energy prices, stating gasoline had risen 16 cents week-over-week to a $4.31 national average, without quoting the Biden-blame posts.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive as a documented public statement: Trump’s posts are on the record, the AAA price figures are independently checkable, and the Ireland visit is confirmed. Established facts are that Trump attributed 2026 price increases to the Biden administration, that regular gasoline averaged about $4.31 a gallon, and that he was in Ireland as prices rose. The claim that Biden’s policies—not later events, including an ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict and oil near $101 a barrel—caused current prices remains Trump’s allegation, not an independently documented finding in the coverage provided. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the full Truth Social posts, EIA or AAA time series comparing 2022 and 2026, any Energy Department or White House statements, and whether other outlets report the attribution remarks alongside the price data.
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