{"id":761705,"date":"2026-07-14T04:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/761705\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T04:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:33:11","slug":"the-hidden-cost-of-trumps-freedom-fuel-gimmick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/761705\/","title":{"rendered":"The hidden cost of Trump\u2019s \u2018Freedom Fuel\u2019 gimmick"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>President Donald Trump is always eager to take credit for achievements\u2014but not to actually do the whole achieving thing in the first place. That part is for suckers and losers, of course.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s no surprise that his \u201csolution\u201d to high gas prices is to do some behind-the-scenes fiddling to make it look like gas prices are coming down without them actually coming down. And it\u2019s all in a flailing attempt to solve a problem that is entirely of his own making, thanks to his disastrously stupid war in Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26191544272681.jpg\" alt=\"Shown is a Freedom Fuel Network gas station in Dresher, Pa., Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Matt Rourke)\" class=\"wp-image-800069405\"  \/>A pump at the Freedom Fuel station in Dresher, Pennsylvania.AP<\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/bergen\/2026\/07\/trump-backed-freedom-fuel-network-debuts-in-nj-with-unclear-gas-savings-absolutely-unrealistic.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">latest genius move<\/a>, Trump is pushing the \u201cFreedom Fuel Network,\u201d which consists of 25 gas stations that are somehow selling gas for mad cheap.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yes, 25 whole stations nationwide. Really moving the needle there, sir. Masterful gambit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s even been having the official White House social media accounts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/Dafr5odAhuV\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hype the project<\/a>, complete with oh-so-grateful consumers praising Trump, because this is what our government does now.<\/p>\n<p>The price? $3.47. Sigh.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s not really \u201ccheaper\u201d in the way anyone actually understands that word.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stations lowering prices via the Freedom Fuel Network in [Pennsylvania], [New Jersey], etc. are simply being subsidized\u2014the stations are losing money\u2014which is being paid for by someone or some entity. The stations are likely losing 20-50c\/gal,\u201d industry analyst Patrick de Haan <a href=\"https:\/\/meidasnews.com\/news\/freedom-fuel-gas-station-linked-to-trump-says-analyst\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">explained<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Subsidizing gas prices isn\u2019t illegal or new. T-Mobile recently did a promotion in California where it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.phonearena.com\/news\/t-mobile-shell-gas-discount_id181014\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">took over<\/a> several Shell stations to sell $1.99\/gallon fuel, picking up the difference in cost and slapping pink branding everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>It seems pretty likely that this is what inspired Trump to do the same, seeing as the \u201cFreedom Fuel Network\u201d registration didn\u2019t exist until about three weeks after the T-Mobile takeover. Oh, and it was also registered by Corporation Trust Company, which the Trump family <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1849635\/000114036124016719\/ef20025342_ex3-2.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">often uses<\/a> to register their private enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>Related | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2026\/7\/10\/800068069\/news\/trump-iran-ceasefire-over-gas-prices-climb\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gas prices climb as Trump says ceasefire with Iran is \u2018OVER\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But here\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/news\/philadelphia\/philadelphia-freedom-fuel-stations-trump-gas-price-20260707.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">official explanation<\/a>: \u201cA White House spokesperson said the Freedom Fuel Network was a private company and not a government program, adding that the company was not purchasing gasoline at a discount and that the administration has not provided funding. The spokesperson said the business was simply making gas more affordable for drivers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey but did not elaborate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Also <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/energy-environment\/5963065-freedom-fuel-trump-gas-stations\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">according to the administration<\/a>, \u201cFreedom Fuel is a patriotic company doing a good thing for drivers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by lowering their gas prices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"683\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26084675982187.jpg\" alt=\"Ray Ruda fills his van with fuel at a gas station Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Brentwood, Tennessee.\" class=\"wp-image-501538367\"  \/>A man fills his van with fuel at a gas station on March 25 in Brentwood, Tennessee.AP<\/p>\n<p>But that doesn\u2019t actually make sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Gas stations have some of the <a href=\"https:\/\/vantainsights.com\/insights\/gas-station-profit-margins\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">thinnest profit margins<\/a> out there, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/how-gas-prices-actually-work-simple-breakdown-patrick-de-haan-fblme\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ranging<\/a> from 15 to 40 cents per gallon or even lower for independent stations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So if you can do grade school math, you can see that lowering the price of gas by, say, 50 cents a gallon is not actually a sustainable business model. It\u2019s also nowhere near what T-Mobile ate to bring a gallon all the way down to $1.99.<\/p>\n<p>Actual experts <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foreignpolicyjournal.com\/2026\/07\/13\/trumps-freedom-fuel-network-offers-cheap-gas-near-philadelphia-but-nobody-knows-who-is-footing-the-bill\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">say<\/a> that there\u2019s no real way a retailer can survive selling gas at 50 cents below market rate\u2014especially when they had \u201cnever heard of the Freedom Fuel Network until the White House announced its existence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, estimates show that each of these 25 stations could lose about $250,000 per month, which isn\u2019t really going to work out in the long term.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>So basically a secret company, which just happens to be registered by the Trump family\u2019s preferred corporation, is subsidizing gas prices out of the goodness of its heart, and surely there\u2019s no quid pro quo bribe situation happening, right?<\/p>\n<p>Everything that Trump does, he does on the cheap\u2014and he does it poorly. Freedom Fuel is going to go the way of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2026\/7\/6\/800065913\/whitehouse\/trumps-incompetent-pool-guy-is-set-to-reap-more-taxpayer-money\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reflecting Pool<\/a>, mark my words.<\/p>\n<p>\tWe&#8217;ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.<\/p>\n<p>We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tPower matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-cta__text\">Sign up for our daily top stories newsletter so you don&#8217;t miss how it&#8217;s being used\u2014and what comes next.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump is always eager to take credit for achievements\u2014but not to actually do the whole achieving&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":761706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,64126,37948,254968,326059,326060,326061,801,3310,1139],"class_list":["post-761705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-business-economy","tag-corruption","tag-donaldtrump","tag-freedomfuel","tag-gasprices","tag-grift","tag-iran","tag-oil","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=761705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}