What was promised
In a statement and video released in Sept 2023 by his Agenda47 campaign, Trump pledged to:
"As President, I will set a national goal of ensuring that America has the No. 1 lowest cost of energy of any industrial country anywhere on Earth."
And:
We will not only match China we will be cheaper than China by a lot. And more energy will mean lower inflation that will mean more jobs.
Not only that:
America Must Have the #1 Lowest Cost Energy and Electricity on Earth
Essentially produce more oil, gas and electricity in the US and it should become cheaper.
By comparing it to industrialised countries and saying China he implied that's what he wants to be cheaper than but in his video he said cheaper "than any place on Earth." He did not state a timeline.
What's happened since
Day one. Trump declared a national energy emergency when he returned to office stating there was not enough production under Biden to meet American demands causing "high energy prices that devastate Americans."
Production went up. America has seen its highest amount of oil production in 2025 with the EIA stating the US made 13.6 million barrels a day. Still remaining the top oil producer in the world since 2018.
Petrol fell in 2025. According to NPR the price of gas was nearly 10% cheaper after one year of Trump's presidency. The Department of Energy stated gas prices were at their "lowest point in almost five years" as of Jan 2026. Natural gas, used for heating and power stations, went the other way: up more than 50% on the previous year's average, NPR reported.
Household electricity went up. Electricity has gotten more expensive for Americans. According to the EIA in 2024 Americans paid an average of 16.5 cents for a kilowatt hour of electricity. In 2025 it increased to 17.3 cents and they predict 2026 will see it reach 18.2 cents with 18.7 in 2027. The EIA states that electricity will see a 11% increase at the 11 hubs it follows due to weather conditions in 2026 with one area expected to increase by 41%. Most of the areas they track will be close to what they were last year. Prices will also go up for the public due to new technology being added to the grid and some areas auctioning off capacity.
The white house has attributed the rise in electric bills to blue states by "stubbornly choosing Green Energy Scam policies that are making electricity bills unaffordable." CNN spoke to the white house press secretary Taylor Rogers about her claim. After looking at data provided by the federal government prices are increasing across the US even in red states. Experts say there is no correlation between red states and electric prices.
Against China, the picture is more mixed. According to the International Energy Agency in 2025 Europe had prices twice as high as the US for industries that use large amounts of electricity and 50% higher than China "similar to 2024." This would mean the US is cheaper than China when it comes to electricity for large industrial companies. But the IEA uses prices from Texas to calculate the US and says these are just examples of what those countries pay for industrial use.
Then came the war. America and Israel bombed Iran on Feb 28th 2026. We've had periods of cease fire throughout the year but have seen prices spike due to limited access to the strait of Hormuz which holds 1/5 of the worlds oil supply during peaceful times. Trump released 172 Million Barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting in March which was done as a joint task force with the International Energy Agency. In May Trump said to CBS news "We're going to take off the gas tax for a period of time." The current federal gas tax is 18.4 cents and the congressional research service said it has never been removed. He stated in October that he's considering lowering it "Well, we're thinking about that." Gas has gone from an average of $2.98 a gallon to $4.15 on Sept 7th. That's a 39% increase despite the reserve being opened up. The EIA said that crude oil reached $114 per barrel in September and spiked to $131 after attacks on Saudi Arabia's pipelines. AAA stated that September saw the highest gas price in that month at $4.33. With the price of gas being over $4 since the end of July and over $1 more than a year ago.
Current situation.
Stalled. Since there is no time frame he hasn't failed to meet his promise yet. Though we are cheaper than China for industrial use. But that was happening before he became president and doesn't reflect the price of gas for Americans. Gas has decreased since he took office. Electricity has increased each year of his presidency. And gas has jumped since the war in Iran. As of October 2026 we are producing record amounts of oil but haven't met the promise of being the cheapest on earth. The average price of gas is higher under Trump 2.0 than it was under Biden.
Opinion.
Electricity prices have only gone up since Trump took office and that's only going to get worse with the proliferation of AI data centers. Gas was coming down nicely across the whole of 2025 but by launching the war alongside Israel and against Iran, prices have just gone up and up and up.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could wind the clock back to January 2026 and then insist that Congress grows a spine and demands that it and only it has the power to declare war.