Bob Woodward and Robert Costain in their book, Peril, partially focused on the last days of the Trump administration and the days leading up to and the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection. In their numerous phone calls during the summer of 2020, Lindsey Graham tried to convince Trump to downplay his, Trump’s, insistence that the elections was stolen and that he was cheated, and instead, focus on the issues Republicans had used to win the presidency in 2020.
In their phone calls in June, 2020, Graham wanted Trump to shift his focus to Biden. Graham said “Biden’s policies were disastrous and provided an opening for Republicans” in the midterms of 2022.
Graham understood that “Trump would have not won the 2016 Republican presidential nomination without his hard line stance on immigration.” Graham believed that Trump’s cynical and cruel immigration policies during his presidency, created and administered by Chief White House Fascist Stephen Miller, while effective in the 2016 election, was not sufficient to inflame enough dissatisfied American voters to win re-election.
Graham believed that Trump could and should exploit Biden’s desire to“expand and simplify the legal immigration process.” Already, the GOP was launching salvos of criticism because of the latest surge of immigrants from Central America.
“An out of control border” Graham said, summarizing his position, “A crime wave and increased prices of gas and food could lead to a Republican blowout in 2022.”
An incredulous Trump asked, “ Do you think it could be that big.”
“Yes.” Graham replied.
Wait, what? Increased price of gas? Where did that come from? What is Lindsey Graham saying.? Since when did the price of gas increase in September, October and November.
Sure, there is always a summer price bump based on, according to oil industry hacks, increased vacation driving and the awkwardly timed maintenance issues which conveniently allowed the oil industry to jack up the price of gas at the pump.
But since when was there ever a fall price bump? What, was Putin going to invade Ukraine or something. Ha! Would a powerful Senator with access to national intelligence briefings be receiving hints about Putin’s long terms plans for Ukraine? Or, what.
And why should any war related disruption affect the price of gas at the pump in the United States, anyway. Russian oil imports into the US are just a drop in the barrel, so to speak.
In fact, according to the oil industry analyst firm, Kepler, in 2020 the US oil industry was exporting from 3.5 to 5.95 million barrels of oil every day. Five point Nine Five million barrels. Every day. That includes highly refined products like gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, jet fuel, and various lubrication products. The total also includes oil refined to different levels, referred to by the industry as either “clean” or “dirty” oil.
If the US has a sufficient supply of crude oil and a surplus of various oil products that the American oil companies can and do export up to five million barrels of oil a day, and if the cost of oil production did not increase during the run up of prices at the pump, which it didn’t, why did the price of gasoline at the pump increase 40-50%.
The simple answer is, greed.
According to Cathy Bussewitz in an Associated Press article on July 29, 2022, Exxon Mobil reported a $17.85 billion profit for the second quarter. Chevron posted a record $11.62 billion profit
Meanwhile, Shell shattered it’s own profit record. Saudi Arabia netted billions of dollars in excess profit as well.
However, does this world wide racketeering scheme by the international oil companies and oil producing states like Saudi Arabia prove that there was a conspiracy to sabotage the American economy, in an effort to interfere with the mid term elections in the favor of Republicans, and maybe hurt some other Western democracies as a bonus.
After all, in politics, “it’s the economy stupid,” especially so in low turn out mid term elections. A stagnant economy crippled by inflation created by supply chain problems aggravated by high fuel prices is the perfect formula or strategy for the minority party to energize their voters while depressing the enthusiasm of the voters of the party in power.
Again, what was Lindsey Graham’s strategy for overwhelming election success for Republicans in 2022?
“An out of control border” Graham said, summarizing his position, “A crime wave and increased prices of gas and food could lead to a Republican blowout in 2022.”
But, is there any supporting evidence that the Republican Party conspired with American oil companies, foreign petrol-states and multi-national petroleum cartels to sabotage the American economy for political and monetary gain. Not to mention the economies of most of the rest of the nations of the world, both third world nations and the highly industrialized countries.
Is the misery of millions of innocent people a small price to pay for billions of excess profits and control of the United States Congress?
Apparently so. But would any Republican be so bold as to take ownership of this evil conspiracy.
Yes. Donald Trump.
Trump is the one prominent Republican who boldly, proudly and publicly proclaims the truth of the conspiracy, and damn the collateral damage.
On September 18, 2022, Tailor Simone Mitchell wrote an online article for Business Insider, Trump Accuses Biden of Scheming to keep Gas Prices Down, but They Have Been in Steady Decline for Months.
At a campaign rally for J.D. Vance in Youngstown Ohio on Saturday Sept.17, 2022, Trump expressed outrage that the price of gas at the pump was falling in the lead up to the election.
Former President Trump “slammed President Biden for lowering gas prices. Trump went on to claim that the “decrease was a politically motivated scheme.”
Trump said that “right after the election the price is going to double.”
Trump continued, “Right after the election, it’s going to double up and go higher that any body ever believed,” Trump explained in his unique style of thought and sentence construction.
In front of the fervent crowd in the Youngstown Covelli Centre, Trump went on to claim that, “shrinking gas prices are a ploy Biden is using for political gain.”
While the White House points out that Saturday was the 95th day in which gas prices have declined since the record highs earlier in the year, and that the national average for regular gas at the pump is $3.68. Trump was unmoved.
Trump criticized the Biden administration for tapping the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and releasing millions of barrels of crude oil into the US marketplace. Trump insisted that the Reserve was intended to be used “only for war.”
According to Mitchell’s article, Trump did the same when Saudi Arabia’s production decreased following Houthi attacks on Saudi refining and production facilities during Trump’s first and only term.
Trump went on to repeat his claim, “He’s (Biden) using that to keep prices down as much as he can just before the election, and right after, it’s going to double up and go higher than anyone ever believed,”
Trump further claimed that the current average of regular gas at the pump is “still double and triple what it was during his administration.”
Trump neglects to mention that the price of gas plummeted during his administration due to his incompetence and mishandling of the pandemic and the economy.
Most Americans are thankful for the Biden administration’s efforts to lower the price of gas and to rebuild the economy from the wreckage created by Trump and the Republicans in Congress and in the Republican led states.
Obviously,Trump and his best friend and corruption caddy, Lindsey Graham, are outraged to see the price of gas begin to return to normal. Outraged that one of the main pillars of their outrageous conspiracy to gain political power, sustaining the exorbitantly high price of gasoline at the pump despite the normal laws of supply and demand economics, is, thanks to the Biden administration, failing miserably.
Did Trump really think that he could incite his followers to take up pitchforks and torches over the falling price of gas?
Does anyone need further evidence that Trump is completely detached from reality. His narcissistic self absorption has never been more obviously on display.
Fight for Higher Gas Prices. Elect Trump!
But what do you expect when craven political grifters conspire with corrupt domestic and international racketeers to enrich themselves and solidify and manipulate for their own profit their monopolistic control of a critical sector of the world economy.
Trump’s fury certainly knows no bounds, as his plan to elect a filibuster free Republican majority in Congress which would “restore” him to his inherent rank as president has certainly been frustrated. The likelihood of the success of Graham and Trump’s plan is falling faster than the price of gas at the pump.
Trump watches in frustration as his criminal associates bug out on him and take the money and run. Lindsey Graham’s plan to manipulate the price of gas at the pump right up to the election for the benefit of the Republican party was spoiled when that darn Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine too early and without coordinating with the Republicans.
Unfortunately for Trump, the Saudi’s, the other petrol-states and the international oil companies have their own agenda. While the Saudi’s certainly prefer a Republican congress and President, that doesn’t mean they hanker after the volatile and unstable Donald Trump.
Unfortunately for the nation, the mentally ill Donald Trump is incapable of normality. The only realistic solution to prevent Trump from doing even more damage to our democracy is to indict, try and convict him for his numerous crimes.
You don’t deal with a cancer by ignoring it and hoping it will just go away. It won’t. It will only get worse. You treat the cancer with the tools you have available. At some point, the treatment might well feel worse than the disease itself. There almost certainly will be intolerable side effects. A nation, like a patient, must stay the course until the cancer is neutralized.
At some point, the national nightmare that is Donald John Trump will be over. It can’t come a moment too soon.