Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized President Trump on X and wrote: “While gas prices are up 39% since Trump started his illegal Iran War, Exxon’s profits are up 130%, Chevron’s are up 185% and Shell’s profits nearly doubled.” He added, “Working families struggle while Big Oil rips them off. Trump’s response: ‘I don’t give a damn.’ Beyond unacceptable.”
[NOTE: Trump said at a rally in Perry, Georgia this week: “I can just see the fake headlines.” He then added: “I don’t give a damn, I’m going to say it: We’re making a freaking fortune.”]
Corporate quarterly profit numbers were released Friday: ExxonMobil earned $15.4 billion in the third quarter, roughly double a year earlier, and Chevron’s adjusted earnings rose 186% to $10.4 billion, per CNN.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said on the earnings call: “We recognize the impact high prices have on people’s lives and economic growth.” Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said refining margins would “eventually moderate,” but “will take some time.”
[NOTE: AAA put the national average gas price for the third quarter at $4.12 a gallon, 96 cents higher than a year earlier and the highest third-quarter level on record, per CNN.]
Trump’s tone has changed since the summer. In August, in the Oval Office, Trump said the oil companies were “making too much money based on a shortage,” and “I don’t like it.” He added: “Chevron, too much money. ExxonMobil, too much. Too much money.”
Trump said the companies “ought to give some of that back to the public” and should “cut the retail price, the consumer price.”
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) quoted Trump saying “I don’t give a damn” and added, “There is no slogan more fitting for this White House.”
[NOTE: Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee have noted that the president’s ownership in oil and gas companies grew by approximately $35.8 million in the first half of 2026. CNN reported that 94% of Trump’s 2026 oil and gas purchases came after the war began in late February.]
White House spokesman Davis Ingle responded: “All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers. There are no conflicts of interest,” and that the gains in his portfolio reflect the broader stock market. Another official said: “By unleashing American energy dominance, he has strengthened our national security and made our country wealthier.”