According to the Wall Street Journal, on August 3, former President Trump stated that America’s largest oil companies are “making too much money” and should return a portion of their profits to the public.
“When you see a company make 12 times more profit than it did last year, they should give some of that back to the people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “And they better lower their retail prices—I mean consumer prices.”
Trump described himself as a “strong believer in free enterprise,” but made clear the industry’s earnings have crossed a line for him, especially at a time when rising fuel costs are hitting Americans hard amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
“You might be surprised to hear me say this, but I’m going to be very clear about it: I’m not happy with the profits these oil companies are making,” he said.
Trump criticizes Big Oil on August 3 (screenshot from video)
The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg noted that the prolonged conflict in the Middle East involving the U.S. and Israel has caused historic volatility in global markets, sending energy prices soaring and fueling public frustration. At the same time, America’s largest oil companies have posted staggering quarterly profits.
ExxonMobil’s quarterly earnings more than doubled year-over-year, reaching $14.5 billion—the highest since 2022. Chevron also posted record quarterly profits of $12.1 billion.
Analysts point out that there’s very little Trump or the oil industry can do to ease high prices, and many options have already been exhausted. Since spring, massive drawdowns from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve have pushed emergency stockpiles to their lowest levels since the early 1980s. Commercial inventories have also shrunk as oil exports surge.
They argue that only reopening the Strait of Hormuz could ensure global supply rises enough to meet world demand.
Glenn Schwartz, director of energy policy at consultancy Rapidan Energy Group, added: “Trump clearly understands that with midterms approaching, high oil and retail gasoline prices make life much harder for incumbent officials, especially Republicans. They know exactly what kind of political consequences that brings.”
Earlier that day, Trump also took to social media to criticize Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, saying: “The only thing he conveniently fails to mention is that without the vision, strength, and stability of the Trump administration, the oil industry—and this country itself—would have been gone long ago!”
Wirth had previously appeared on Fox News, highlighting the company’s record U.S. oil and gas production and refining capacity. He warned that energy supply disruptions have now spread to the Red Sea and the Black Sea, making the risks to oil supply “very real.”
