Trump Explains $100 Oil Is “Effectively Free,” Urges Americans to Adjust Perspective
The former president says Americans are using weak math and should focus on the feeling of the number.
PALM BEACH, FL — With oil prices climbing above $100 a barrel this week, President Donald Trump assured Americans that energy costs are “lower than they’ve ever been,” provided they are evaluated under what he described as a “more accurate and very strong way of thinking about numbers.”
“People see $100 and they panic,” Trump said during remarks delivered beside a decorative pump he identified as “symbolic of dominance.” “But what they don’t understand is that it’s actually extremely low. Some are saying possibly the lowest ever, when you look at it correctly.”
Trump clarified that traditional pricing models fail to account for what he called “American energy confidence,” a variable he said reduces the real cost of oil “sometimes all the way down to zero, or very close to it.”
“If you feel strong about it, if the country feels strong, the number changes,” he said. “In many cases, it becomes free. We had oil that was basically free. People don’t talk about that.”
Energy analysts initially attempted to reconcile the statement with current market data, before several shifted to describing the remarks as “conceptually priced.”
According to Trump, the key lies in understanding that high prices often reflect strength rather than cost.
“When oil is high, that means we’re respected,” he explained. “And when you’re respected, you’re not really paying. You’re gaining. So it’s a very low price, maybe even a negative price when you think about it.”
The president also suggested Americans focus less on the numeric figure itself and more on the “feeling of the number,” which he described as “tremendous right now.”
“People are doing their calculations all wrong,” Trump said. “They’re using weak math. We use strong math. Strong math says it’s low. Very low. Possibly free.”
At the conclusion of his remarks, Trump reiterated that his administration had achieved “the best oil pricing in history,” adding that any apparent increases were “optical and, frankly, optional.”
“Don’t look at the number,” he advised. “Look at what the number is telling you to feel.”