The White House launched 25 Freedom Fuel gas stations, all selling fuel for $3.47 per gallon.
The White House announced the initiative on July 7 when X posted a video of a customer thanking President Donald Trump for lowering gas prices. The White House told USA TODAY in a July 7 email that these stations are in the greater Philadelphia area.
In the video, a customer claims the gas station saved him money. “I thought gasoline would be more expensive, but it’s not,” said an anonymous man. “Thank you Mr. Trump for saving me money.”
The move comes as Americans continue to worry about gas prices ahead of November’s midterm elections. However, Freedom Gas prices are only slightly lower than the national average.
The national average fuel price on Thursday, July 9 was $3.84, according to AAA data. The average gas price in Pennsylvania on Thursday, July 9th was $3.99.
The USA TODAY Cars team looked at why President Trump is trying to lower gas prices and whether his latest “free fuel” efforts are sustainable.
Why are gas prices so high?
Gasoline prices started rising in all 50 states early this year, with the national average nearing $5 in May. Fuel industry analyst Gasbuddy said significant spikes were observed in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.
Gas prices are determined by the cost of crude oil. Crude oil is traded on global markets, and the war between the United States and Iran has increased costs. At its peak, Brent crude soared more than 55% to nearly $120 per barrel.
The cause of the sharp rise was a transportation disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the International Energy Agency, nearly 34% of the world’s crude oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz in 2025. Gasoline prices began to fall after the United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement in June to end the war, effectively reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, pump costs are determined primarily by four factors: crude oil, refining costs, distribution and marketing, and federal and state taxes.
As of July 7, the average gas price in Hawaii, California and Washington was more than $5 a gallon. Meanwhile, Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas had the cheapest numbers, according to AAA data.
Freedom Fuel gas station locations can be found on the company’s website.
How else did President Trump try to lower gas prices?
President Trump has previously pressed gas retailers to lower pump prices, accusing them of price gouging at a time when oil barrel prices were beginning to fall.
President Trump is also pushing Congress to pass legislation that would allow the sale of premium ethanol gasoline as Congress grapples with the soaring gas prices that upset many Americans during an election year.
In its latest 2026 budget request sent to Congress on June 24, the White House called for new legislation to codify the “permanent annual sale” of E15 gas, a gasoline blended with 15% ethanol. The White House said doing so would represent an “urgent and necessary policy change that will expand consumer choice, support domestic fuel production, and bring additional flexibility to fuel markets.”
What are people saying about Trump’s “Fuel for Freedom”?
Analysts question whether President Trump’s move to lower gas prices is sustainable absent a major change in Iran’s military situation.
“One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that people assume there is a relationship between oil and gasoline,” Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote in an X post. “That’s not the case. Crude oil is the biggest input cost, but gasoline has its own market. Sometimes they move together and sometimes they move in opposite directions.”
In another X-post, De Haan predicted that gas prices are likely to rise in the coming days.
“The market rally accelerated on the news that Russia had suspended diesel exports,” he wrote. “Furthermore, the current national average diesel price is $4.75/gallon, but could go back to $5/gallon in the next week or two. And the national average gasoline price could be headed toward $4/gallon. Oil and refining will be expensive.”
Environmentalists slammed President Trump for drastically lowering federal fuel economy standards while offering “artificially low” gasoline prices.
“Before this short-term gimmick hit the headlines, President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency provoked Congress with an illegal attack on the Advanced Clean Car Program, which has made cleaner, more efficient cars available to more than 40% of state passenger car markets over the past 15 years,” Elias Asher, program usher at Sunstone Strategies, an Oakland, Calif.-based consulting firm specializing in climate policy, said in an email.
Asher criticized the opening of Freedom Fuel stations as “Trump’s hypocritical attempt to convince Americans (at least those who live near these stations) that he cares about gas station prices.”
Michelle Del Rey is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Please contact mdelrey@usatoday.com. Keith Laing is USA TODAY’s automotive reporter. Please contact klaing@usatodayco.com.
