Trump Tells Georgia Crowd He Doesn't Care About High Pump Prices

President Donald Trump addressed a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia on Saturday evening, acknowledging high oil and gas prices while telling the crowd the US fossil fuel industry is "making hundreds of billions of dollars." He said his advisers had instructed him not to raise the topic "because people are paying a little higher." He then added, "I don't give a damn, I'm going to say it: We're making a freaking fortune."

The remarks drew swift reaction online. Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, posted on social media: "Trump to people who want lower gas prices: 'Fuck you, I'm making money!' Just run this as an ad." Jeet Heer, a writer for The Nation, called the comments an "amazing closing argument, for the Democrats" and said they need only run the clip. Ron Filipkowski, editor in chief at MediasTouch, wrote that oil industry profits come "at our expense every day" and added, "There's no trickling down happening."

Oil companies reported large earnings in the second quarter of 2026. ExxonMobil and Chevron together posted $26.5 billion in profits for that quarter. Trump owns stock in oil companies that has increased in value by between $1.5 million and $4.4 million since the start of the Iran War. Households have spent about $1,100 more on gas and diesel since the war began, according to the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker maintained by the Watson School of International and Public Affairs and the Climate Solutions Lab at Brown University.

Jeff Colgan, director of the Climate Solutions Lab, told HuffPost on Tuesday: "The profits for Big Oil are huge, and they are coming straight out of the pockets of American consumers at a time when many people are feeling the pinch." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote on social media Sunday: "Trump just said the quiet part out loud: He doesn't 'give a damn' about higher gas prices, as long as his billionaire friends are making a fortune."

Trump appeared to anticipate criticism of his remarks at the rally. "I can just see the fake headlines," he said. "President Trump is talking about all the money they're making while people are suffering at the pump. That will be the headline. But I said, I don't give a damn, I'm going to say it: We're making a freaking fortune."

The rally took place in Perry, Georgia on Saturday evening. Trump made similar comments at a rally in Arizona over a week earlier. Susan Glasser, a writer for The New Yorker, posted Saturday that the statement is "like the epigraph for the entire Trump 2.0 presidency: 'I don't give a damn. We're making a fortune.'"