Pres. Trump promises oil prices will come down

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - President Donald Trump on Monday told our White House Correspondent Jon Decker how long he expects oil prices to remain so high. Jon Decker has the story.

For motorists across the country, the ongoing war against Iran has been felt every time they fill up their gas tank. And on Monday, the President said that the war will ultimately lead to a decline in prices at the pump.

According to AAA as of Monday morning, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is approximately $3.72. In the East Room, Gray Media’s White House correspondent Jon Decker asked President Trump when those prices will be coming down.

JON DECKER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT:

“Have your advisors told you anything in terms of how long we can expect gas prices as high as they are right now?”

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP:

“I don’t need advisors to tell me that I know. I know what it is… I can tell you that when this is over, oil prices are going to go down very, very rapidly. So is inflation. So is everything else. But frankly, much more important than short term or even long term oil prices. You can’t let the most violent, vicious country in the last 50 years have a nuclear weapon because the Middle East will be gone."

The president has underscored the destruction of the Iranian Navy. However, oil tankers remain stuck, unable to transit the Straits of Hormuz. That’s due to concerns over possible mines in the water. President Trump has offered U.S. Navy escorts and federally-backed insurance; Gray Media’s White House correspondent Jon Decker asked the President if China will soon work alongside the U.S. in offering military escorts for those tankers.

JON DECKER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

“Mr. President, you mentioned, the significant amount of oil that China derives from the Middle East. What is the status of your conversation with President XI in terms of getting China to cooperate in terms of making the Strait of Hormuz safe for those oil tankers?”

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

“Yeah. So China is a great example. They get 91% of their oil from the harmless straits, which we’ve protected for years. And it always bothered me that we have these countries. Japan gets 95% of its from the Straits of Hormuz. And it always bothered me that we’re protecting them. We don’t need them.”

Over the weekend, the President asked America’s NATO allies as well as Japan and South Korea to help escort cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, no country has responded positively to the President’s request.

At another press interaction late Monday, President Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with America’s allies, saying “they should be not only thanking us, they should be helping us. What does surprise me is that they’re not eager to.”