Michigan gas prices have climbed to a 2026 high of $4.93 a gallon, up 72 cents in just one month and $1.75 from a year ago, according to AAA. Gas prices have surged roughly 83% since the beginning of January, when drivers were paying an average of $2.70 a gallon.
“When you’re president of the United States and people are struggling for gas, you don’t sit there and talk about your new helipad or your drapes in a ballroom,” El-Sayed said during an interview with Fox News outside of a Michigan gas station. “You actually go and do your damn job.”
El-Sayed was contrasting the pain Americans are facing at the pump with Trump’s pursuit of a massive $400 million White House ballroom, a project that has drawn controversy over its cost and whether the president had the authority to move forward without congressional approval.
Pain beyond the pump
El-Sayed’s attack comes as higher energy costs eat further into household budgets. Americans have absorbed an estimated $115 billion in additional costs since the war with Iran began, or about $860 per household, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
Those costs extend beyond what drivers see at the gas station. Higher fuel costs can work their way into everything from airfare to groceries and other goods that have to be transported across the country.
Lower- and middle-income Americans are especially exposed because they have less financial cushion to absorb those increases. “Those folks, they don’t own much stock, they may not even own a home and they have a fair amount of debt,” Zandi told Fox Business in an interview earlier this month.
The financial strain is becoming a major issue for voters heading into the Nov. 3 midterms. In a Fox News survey released last week, about three-quarters of voters rated the economy negatively, while those who said they were falling behind financially outnumbered those getting ahead by more than three to one. Gas prices were also a growing concern, with 61% calling them a major problem, up from 48% two years ago.
A separate NBC News poll found that 55% of registered voters said the Trump administration has hurt the economy.
Why fuel prices remain high and what it means for consumers
Much of that added cost can be traced to the disruption in global oil supplies since the Iran war began. Shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil routes, fell sharply, briefly pushing Brent crude above $120 a barrel in April.
