Gas prices at the pump have have risen about 50 cents since Trump started his war against Iran, and with tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz all but shut down, they could keep rising.
“Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel,” said an Iranian government spokesperson who, of course, has a reason to predict the price getting that high. The price for a barrel of Brent crude was about $73 before Trump attacked Iran. It was above $100 Friday, and The Associated Press reported that some analysts predict a prolonged closure of the strait could make oil $150 a barrel.
But you know which drivers don’t feel a wave of anxiety as they motor past gas stations with higher prices than the day before? Those in electric vehicles.
Because of Trump and congressional Republicans, there are fewer EV owners than there otherwise would be.
Unfortunately, because of Trump and congressional Republicans, there are fewer EV owners than there otherwise would be, and we’re falling behind other nations — especially China — in the race to create a secure, affordable energy future that produces less pollution.
When Trump came into office, he promised limitless energy abundance and “energy dominance” if only we would turn away from those prissy renewable sources of energy and back toward the kind you get when a bunch of manly men drill into the ground. It wasn’t just rhetoric; the One Big Beautiful Bill he signed last year was the most concerted attack on renewable energy we’ve ever seen.
The bill repealed a whole series of green tax credits, loans and incentives, starting with the $7,500 credit for buyers of American-made electric vehicles. That was just the beginning. Programs meant to promote solar, wind, energy efficiency and high-tech green manufacturing all went on the chopping block.
The effect on EV sales was immediate. The bill ceased the tax credit at the end of September 2025, and EV sales in the fourth quarter were down 36% over the year before. While some buyers had rushed to complete their purchases before the subsidies expired, many chose to buy hybrids — which were never eligible for subsidies — instead.
The decline in American EV sales happened as global EV sales kept growing — by 20% in 2025. Here at home, the Big Three American automakers have all pulled back on their plans for EV production, absorbing huge losses and canceling product lines. Meanwhile, the Chinese EV industry keeps leaping ahead.
BYD recently passed Tesla to become the world’s top seller of electric cars. China also is beating us in technological advancement. BYD just announced it has developed an EV battery that can charge to 70% in five minutes.
Because of tariffs initially imposed by the Biden administration, you can’t buy all those fancy, affordable Chinese EVs in America. But even as Trump tries to throttle the EV industry, one of the biggest impediments to EV adoption, range anxiety, is becoming less of a problem. The buildout of the EV charging network has continued at a rapid pace, and there are now more than 77,000 EV charging locations in the country. Ironically enough, the Trump administration’s distaste for regulation has produced a streamlined system for funding construction of new charging stations.
EVs are still too expensive here, and Trump means to keep it that way.
But EVs are still too expensive here, and Trump means to keep it that way. Meanwhile, as energy demand keeps rising, the administration has attempted to shut down approvals for new solar and wind projects. While the use of solar, in particular, is exploding all across the world, the pace at which new solar capacity was added in the U.S. declined in 2025.
This is another area in which we’ve ceded the future to our biggest global rival. China now manufacturers 80% of the world’s solar panels, 60% of its wind turbines and 75% of lithium-ion batteries. The world is turning to green energy, and we’re barely trying to compete to be the supplier.
To hear the Trump administration tell it, all that matters is that we remain “dominant” in fossil fuel production. As Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said proudly when asked about the Iran War spiking gas prices, “We’ve never been in a more dominant or secure position in the history of the country.”
If he’s just talking about fossil fuel production, then he’s right. We’re the world’s leading producer of oil and have been for years, and the same is true of natural gas. But that only proves what a fool’s errand it is to pursue the illusion of fossil fuel “dominance.” All that oil and gas we produce hasn’t protected us from the effects of Trump’s war because oil is traded on world markets. As everyone who has filled up their car these past two weeks has learned once again, a disruption in the global supply chain shows up at your local gas station in a matter of days.
Even those who drive EVs aren’t completely insulated. With so many goods moved on trains, planes and trucks, higher fuel costs are inevitably passed along to every consumer. And Trump can’t seem to decide whether that’s a good or bad thing. One moment his administration is promising that gas prices will come down quickly, and the next moment, Trump is proclaiming on social media that spiking prices are good, because “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” Anyone filling up their car might ask who the “we” is, because it isn’t consumers. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, reassured us this week that “Freedom is not free. Americans are going to have to make some sacrifices.”
But what are we sacrificing for?
There is a different future we could have, one in which fossil fuels become a much smaller portion of our energy mix, where most of our energy comes from renewables, most people drive EVs and the Strait of Hormuz being open or closed to tanker traffic isn’t something we have to worry about.
That would be real energy independence — and we wouldn’t even have to bomb anyone to secure it.
Paul Waldman is a journalist and author focused on politics and culture.