American drivers have now paid more for gasoline on average during Donald Trump’s second term than they did during Joe Biden’s presidency, according to data from the AAA reported on Monday, 26 October 2026. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline since Trump returned to office stands at $3.472, edging past the $3.471 average recorded across Biden’s term.
The gap is less than a tenth of a cent. Politically, though, it is a milestone: it reverses the expectation earlier this year that fuel costs would stay well below Biden-era levels, and it lands just eight days before the midterm elections on 3 November, when Republicans are defending narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress.
What happened
The crossover was reported by Reuters on Monday, based on AAA data. It is an average over time, not a single day’s price — it adds up what drivers paid day by day since Trump took office on 20 January 2025 and compares it with the same kind of average across Biden’s four years in office.
Diesel tells a starker story. Diesel has averaged $4.343 a gallon during Trump’s second term, against $4.078 under Biden. US diesel hit a record high of $6.523 a gallon on 22 September, as the wars in Ukraine and Iran disrupted global fuel supplies.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the gasoline figures, Reuters reported.
The numbers in full
| Measure | Trump second term | Biden term |
|---|---|---|
| Regular gasoline, term average (AAA) | $3.472 per gallon | $3.471 per gallon |
| Diesel, term average (AAA) | $4.343 per gallon | $4.078 per gallon |
| Highest single-day gasoline price | $4.60 (May 2026, per EIA analysis) | $5.03 (June 2022) |
| Current national average, Monday 26 Oct | about $4.29 per gallon | |
| National average before the Iran war | $2.98 per gallon | |
A separate weekly figure underlines how high prices remain right now. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported regular gasoline averaging $4.284 per gallon nationally for the week ending 19 October — down 4.7 cents from the previous week, but $1.265 higher than a year earlier. The EIA’s October outlook put the monthly average at $4.35 per gallon.
What “average over a term” really means
This is where the claim is most often misunderstood, so it is worth stating plainly. The crossover does not mean gasoline is at its highest ever, and it does not mean every fill-up costs more than it did under Biden.
Biden still holds the record for the highest single price: $5.03 a gallon in June 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine sent world oil prices spiking. The highest price during Trump’s second term so far is $4.60, recorded in May 2026.
What has changed is the sustained level. Prices under Trump stayed lower for much of his first year back in office, then climbed sharply after the Iran war began in late February 2026 and stayed high. Averaged across the whole term so far, that sustained elevation has now just overtaken Biden’s four-year average — by a fraction of a cent that will keep moving with each week’s data.
Why prices rose
The immediate driver is the disruption to global energy markets from the conflict involving Iran, which began in late February. Oil shipping slowed, and gasoline climbed above $4 per gallon in March for the first time since Biden’s presidency, according to federal and market data cited in recent coverage.
Brent crude surged to nearly $117 a barrel last week, its highest since April, after Iranian attacks on tankers around the Strait of Hormuz rattled traders, Reuters reported on Monday. It then eased by about $2 on Monday morning — a reminder of how unsettled the market remains.
The war in Ukraine has added a second pressure. Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries have tightened refined-fuel supplies, analysts say, though they describe the Iran conflict as the much bigger driver of the diesel spike. Efforts to contain the wider conflict continued on Monday, when Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey held high-level talks in Tehran on regional peace and security — a meeting covered in our report on how Iran hosted Saudi, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran as the Mecca Pact tries to head off a new war.
The $2 pledge versus reality
Fuel was a headline promise of Trump’s 2024 campaign. He repeatedly criticised the Biden administration over energy costs and promoted the prospect of gasoline falling below $2 a gallon.
Instead, the current national average stands at about $4.29 per gallon, up from $2.98 before the war, according to reporting based on AAA data. Trump has told supporters at recent rallies that gas prices are lower than when Biden was president. A CNN fact-check on 13 October found that claim was true only for a small fraction of Biden’s presidency: the national average on that Monday, about $4.36, was higher than on all but 76 of Biden’s 1,460 full days in office.
Trump has also said the United States is benefiting economically from the Iran war’s oil-price spike. That claim is contested, because higher fuel costs raise expenses for consumers and businesses even as they lift revenues for domestic producers.
Diesel: the sharper pain
If gasoline is a political headache, diesel is a deeper economic one. Diesel powers agriculture, freight, shipping and much of industry, so its price feeds into food and goods prices as well as transport costs.
US diesel averaged $6.28 a gallon in the latest week reported before 23 October, according to the EIA — up nearly 10 cents in a week, reversing two weeks of declines and remaining near record highs. The pressure is particularly acute in Farm Belt states such as Iowa and Kansas, where rising fuel and fertiliser costs, trade disruption and weak farm economics have fuelled discontent among some of Trump’s core supporters.
What the administration is doing
With the election eight days away, the administration has thrown a series of costly measures at the diesel problem. It has offered billions of dollars to farmers, relaxed rules for truckers, eased sanctions on Russian fuel and pressed European allies to release emergency stocks.
Trump signed an executive order this month allowing truckers to use red-dyed diesel — normally reserved for off-road use such as farm equipment — for highway driving, while temporarily waiving certain federal tax reporting and record-keeping requirements. But the IRS has not eliminated the federal diesel tax, and truck-stop operators say the guidance remains murky and carries too much risk. “I really don’t see any of these dyed diesel announcements making a meaningful dent in diesel prices,” said David Fialkov, top lobbyist at NATSO, the trade group representing the largest US truck-stop operators.
The administration also announced $8 billion in new farm aid at a rally in Kansas, which would push total government payments to farmers this year to a record $55.4 billion, above the previous high of $45 billion in 2020. Farm groups say one-time payments cannot provide the stability they need, and the Russian fuel move has drawn bipartisan criticism for potentially helping Moscow finance its war in Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers defended the efforts, saying: “The President wants diesel prices to fall, which is why he has taken historic actions to save American farmers, truckers, and workers every hard-earned penny.” The White House has attributed high diesel prices to pre-existing issues, including years of refinery closures and damage from Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Why it matters for the midterms
Fuel prices are one of the most visible measures of household inflation. Voters see them on every commute, and they feed into delivery, grocery and freight costs. That visibility is why a sub-cent crossover in a long-term average carries political weight far beyond its size.
The polling context is difficult for the White House. Trump’s approval rating fell to a record low this month, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on 19 October: 31% of Americans approve of his performance overall, down a percentage point from two weeks earlier and the lowest level in either of his presidential terms, with just 23% approving of his handling of the economy. A separate October Reuters/Ipsos poll found nearly 80% of Americans blame Trump for higher costs.
That backdrop helps explain why fuel has become a central campaign issue. It also connects this story to the wider midterm fight: the Justice Department sued to block Alaska Senate certification if Dan Sullivan loses, and Barack Obama campaigned in Ohio and Michigan as the midterm race tightened — both contests where the cost of living is a live argument.
What happens next
Three things will decide whether the crossover hardens into a lasting talking point or fades. First, the weekly AAA and EIA releases: if prices fall, the Trump-term average could slip back below Biden’s, since the gap is so small. Second, the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran conflict: any renewed disruption to oil shipments could push prices higher again, while a durable de-escalation could bring relief more quickly. Third, the election itself: voters on 3 November will deliver their verdict with pump prices still near $4.30 in mind.
The EIA expects retail gasoline prices to fall below $4 per gallon sometime next year and forecasts a national average of $3.60 per gallon in 2027 — though its outlook depends heavily on oil supply, shipping conditions and geopolitical developments.
Timeline
- 20 January 2025: Donald Trump returns to office; national gasoline average about $3.12 per gallon.
- June 2022 (Biden term): Gasoline peaks at $5.03 per gallon after Russia invades Ukraine.
- Late February 2026: Iran war begins; oil shipping disrupted, gasoline climbs above $4 in March.
- May 2026: Gasoline reaches its second-term high of $4.60 per gallon.
- 22 September 2026: US diesel hits a record $6.523 per gallon.
- Early October 2026: Trump signs the red-dyed diesel executive order; $8 billion farm aid announced in Kansas.
- 13 October 2026: CNN fact-check finds Trump’s “prices lower than Biden” claim true for only a small fraction of Biden’s presidency.
- 19 October 2026: Reuters/Ipsos poll puts Trump’s approval at a record-low 31%; EIA weekly gasoline average $4.284.
- 23 October 2026: Reuters reports diesel relief efforts growing costlier as the election nears.
- 26 October 2026: AAA data show the Trump-term gasoline average ($3.472) passing Biden’s ($3.471).
FAQs
Are gas prices higher under Trump than under Biden? On average across each term so far, yes — by a fraction of a cent: $3.472 under Trump’s second term against $3.471 under Biden, according to AAA data reported on 26 October 2026. The gap is tiny and moves with weekly prices.
Is gasoline at its highest price ever? No. The highest price was $5.03 per gallon in June 2022 under Biden. The highest during Trump’s second term so far is $4.60, in May 2026.
What is the current national average? About $4.29 per gallon on Monday 26 October, according to reporting based on AAA data. The EIA’s weekly average for the week ending 19 October was $4.284.
Why are diesel prices so high? Diesel averaged $4.343 during Trump’s second term against $4.078 under Biden, and hit a record $6.523 on 22 September. The Iran war’s disruption to global fuel supplies is the biggest driver, with Ukraine-war refinery disruption adding pressure.
What did Trump promise on gas prices? During the 2024 campaign he promoted the prospect of gasoline falling below $2 a gallon. Prices instead rose from $2.98 before the Iran war to about $4.29 now.
Will prices fall before the election? The EIA expects gasoline to fall below $4 sometime next year, averaging $3.60 in 2027. Before 3 November, weekly AAA and EIA releases — and any change in the Iran conflict — will matter most.
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