1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Republican disaster of choice Low-info voters might not be highly engaged in politics in general, but they cannot miss the country’s rising prices, especially the cost of gasoline and diesel—and the food delivered by vehicles that use them—resulting from Trump’s war on Iran. Bloomberg reported today that almost half of Americans’ spending now goes toward food and housing, the highest percentage in 15 years. Rising costs contrast painfully with reports from today that those higher prices are sending oil company profits skyrocketing. Steve Kopack of NBC News reported today that oil giant BP’s profits are at an 18-year-high and Chevron’s earnings are up more than 180% from a year earlier. On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump asked oil executives to donate a billion dollars to his campaign, calling it a “deal” considering how much money they would make from the regulatory cuts and new permits Trump promised. That investment seems to have paid off. At a rally on October 24, Trump commented to attendees, “I wonder if I should say this,” then went on to say that “our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what’s happened in the Middle East.” He continued: “My people said, ‘Please don’t mention that, sir,’ because people are paying a little higher. But what we’ve done for this country, we’re making money like this country has never made before.” He finished: “I don’t give a damn: I’m going to say it. We’re making a freaking fortune.” But most Americans are not part of that “we,” and they are angry not only at the soaring profits of oil companies while they pay higher prices, but also at the cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, medical and scientific research, and so on at the same time that the administration is pouring lives and taxpayer money into Trump’s war of choice on Iran.