Robert Reich Says Americans Are 'Getting Charged Twice' as Trump's Iran War Raises Gas Prices, Boosts Big Oil Profits

Badar Shaikh

Sat, August 1, 2026 at 8:30 PM GMT+3 5 min read

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Economist Robert Reich says the ongoing Iran war, which has induced sharp hikes in gas prices across the U.S., has handed a boost to the oil industry's profits, slamming President Donald Trump's pro-oil stance.

Trump's Iran War Causing Consumers to Pay More

On the social media platform X on Thursday, Reich shared that "high gas prices caused by Trump's Iran War" were boosting the "oil industry's profits," while the companies were "still getting billions in tax breaks every year," he said. This, according to Reich, meant that consumers were "effectively getting charged twice."

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The national average gas price surged to $4.1060/gallon on Friday, according to the data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), up from Thursday's at $4.0980/gallon average.

High gas prices caused by Trump's Iran War are boosting the oil industry's profits.
And they're still getting billions in tax breaks every year — meaning you're effectively getting charged twice.
Here's what you need to know about Big Oil's one-two punch.…

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 30, 2026

Reich had, in the post, linked a video he had posted in December last year, which detailed how tax breaks and subsidies to oil companies, like the "Intangible Drilling Cost Deduction," allow companies to write off up to 80% of the cost of developing an oil well in the first year, Reich said in the video.

He also said that the industry "extracts $35 billion in tax breaks and subsidies" annually. He then criticized the Trump administration's Big Beautiful Bill, which could give over $18 billion in "giveaways" to oil companies, the economist said in the video. He also lamented the Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rollbacks.

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Adam Schiff, Bernie Sanders Slam Trump

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) had earlier slammed Trump over high gas prices in the U.S., saying that the President felt that cost was "no object" for the over $22 billion redesign of the Washington Dulles International Airport as Americans continued paying high costs at the pump.

He had also questioned where the Trump administration's reported revenue of $13 billion from Venezuelan oil went after the President said that the U.S. had a "1000-year" gasoline supply, including oil from Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) also slammed Trump's pro-oil stance, saying that the White House was helping Big Oil despite heatwaves and extreme weather affecting people across the globe.

Photo courtesy: Shutterstock

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