Trump 'Not Happy' About Oil Industry's Record Profits

As several major oil companies have posted record profits, President Trump has called them out for "making too much money."

The Gains: Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil exporter, reported a 33% jump in profits during Q2, taking in $8.2 billion more than it did last year. Shell and ExxonMobil doubled their profits from last year's Q2 to $9.8 billion and $14.5 billion, respectively. BP posted a $5.7 billion profit, its best result since 2022. Chevron reported its highest quarterly earnings on record at $12.1 billion.

Key Quotes: Trump told reporters, "Based on a shortage, they're making too much money. I don't like it. And I should be the last one to say because I'm a big free enterprise guy… when we're finished with Iran, you're going to see prices drop through the floor. But they made too much money." He added, "When you look at one company where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they ought to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price. I'll say it loud and clear. I'm not happy about it."

For Context: Energy costs have soared worldwide since the beginning of the US-Israel war with Iran on February 28. In late March, oil surged to well over $100/barrel, and gas prices topped $4 on average nationwide. Mainstream outlets have previously offered mixed reporting on how concerned the Trump administration is. Despite campaigning on affordability, in May, Trump said the financial situations of Americans were "not even a little bit" relevant to him when evaluating how to end the Iran war. Energy costs last soared in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

How The Media Covered It: Outlets on the right generally included longer excerpts or more parts of Trump's direct quote, whereas outlets from the left generally included shorter snippets and offered bits of analysis and context sooner. CNN (Lean Left bias) framed the income figures as a "political headache" for Trump and said he "needs" energy prices to fall before the midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal (Center) included critical quotes from "analysts." The Journal prominently included a quote from an energy consultant who said Trump is trying to "bully" companies into lowering their prices. The New York Post (Right) noted that Trump threatened to prosecute major oil companies in June for "gouging" customers, something neither CNN nor The Journal mentioned.

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