Is the Trump Admin Panicking Over Rising Oil Prices?

As oil prices have risen amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, several major liberal media outlets have offered mixed reporting on how concerned the Trump administration is.

CNN: On March 9, CNN (Lean Left bias) reported, "The Trump administration has started to panic about the spiking price of oil. While senior Trump aides had anticipated some brief surge in oil prices in the first days of the war with Iran, the size and sustainability of the market reaction caught them off guard." CNN cited anonymous "people familiar with the internal discussions" as its source.

WaPo: On March 10, The Washington Post (Lean Left) reported the price hike has spurred "GOP political anxiety." The Post mixed anonymous sourcing with named sources in its report. Republican pollster Mitchell Brown said, "Gas was one thing that they have been touting as an economic win. A reversal on that obviously makes the message harder." The Post also cited an anonymous source and said the rise "has injected new uncertainty into GOP plans to tout their progress on the economy." It added that an unnamed GOP consultant "recounted having to recently rewrite a fundraising pitch that touted gas prices from before the war broke out in late February." Another anonymous "operative in a swing state" said they fear rising prices will make midterm elections a "bloodbath" for Republicans.

Politico: On March 11, Politico (Lean Left) reported that "one person close to the White House" suggested the Trump administration "believes it can withstand a brief spike in oil prices – for as many as four weeks… before the political hit does lasting damage." The person said, "Assuming the economy continues to turn around once the active part of the war is concluded, you'll have the whole summer from May through August to ride the turnaround." Politico included reports from at least four anonymous sources. One said the administration was caught off guard by the price spike: "At the worst moments [Sunday] night, it was insane. That definitely surprised me, and it absolutely surprised them."

Editor's Note on 'One-Sided' Coverage: AllSides didn't find reporting on this angle from sources from the center and right. It's unclear whether that's due to bias, lack of interest, or a lack of sourcing; The articles from CNN, Politico, and Washington Post were heavily based on original reporting via anonymous sources, several of which offered different perspectives.

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