President Donald Trump is demanding that ExxonMobil and Chevron cut retail gasoline prices after the two companies reported windfall profits tied to the war in Iran.
"They're making too much money based on a shortage," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I don't like it." The president insisted the oil companies must pass those earnings on to drivers. "They're going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price," he said.
ExxonMobil and Chevron together earned $29 billion in the second quarter, more than three times their combined
profit in the same period a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. Chevron posted earnings of $12 billion, a gain of nearly 400% against the $2.5 billion it earned in the same quarter last year. ExxonMobil's results climbed to $14.5 billion, up from $7.1 billion 12 months earlier.
Trump also directed criticism at Chevron CEO Mike Wirth, saying Wirth had failed to credit his administration's pro-fossil fuel policies. "The only thing he conveniently forgot to mention
is that, without the genius foresight, strength, and stability, of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Wirth had previously said that the administration had been "very helpful" on oil supply and declared that "the policy actions that have been taken are the right ones." | 
