10/30/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FFMBsHWyv/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Trump: "I don't give a damn about high gas prices. We're making a freaking fortune."
On Thursday, Shell showed the world who "we" is: $10.8 billion in quarterly profit, double last year's haul.
And Trump's own oil and gas stocks? They've swelled to as much as $81.6 million.
He knew exactly how it would sound. He told the crowd his advisers warned him to keep quiet. He even recited the headline he expected, something about the president bragging over money while people suffer at the pump.
Then he bragged anyway.
Remember: gas averaged $2.87 before the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. Iran choked off the Strait of Hormuz and prices took off. The typical household has paid roughly $856 extra at the pump since then.
The war has also killed more than 3,400 people in Iran, 3,600 in Lebanon and at least 21 American service members.
Shell's windfall comes from shortage.
With refineries in the Middle East and Russia badly damaged, fuel got scarce, and scarce fuel sells high. Shell told investors this month it expected to earn $42 on every barrel it refined over the summer. In the spring it was $24. The old record, set after Russia invaded Ukraine, was about $28.
None of it is flowing back to drivers. Shell plans to hand $5 billion to shareholders through buybacks over the next three months, up from $3 billion. Its stock rose 3% on the news, the Guardian reported.
Trump has his own seat at that table. Democrats on Congress's Joint Economic Committee found, as CBS News reported, that his accounts bought between $4.7 million and $17.5 million in oil and gas stock while the war raged. Chevron and ExxonMobil are his biggest positions.
The White House says outside firms manage his money. Those firms made 94% of his oil and gas purchases this year after February 28. The day the bombing started.
"Your pain is his paycheck," said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts.
Last quarter Exxon and Chevron cleared a combined $26.5 billion, according to the Washington Post. They report again Friday.
Election Day is Tuesday.
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