By
Updated on: August 3, 2026 / 5:12 PM EDT
/ CBS News
Add CBS News on Google
President Trump on Monday urged U.S. oil companies to take action to ease gasoline prices, saying that the energy giants "made too much money" from high oil prices due to the Iran war.Mr. Trump's remarks come as Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell more than 4% on Monday to about $84 a barrel amid hopes for diplomatic progress in ending the conflict. Yet oil prices remain considerably higher than their pre-war levels, and U.S. gasoline prices are above $4 a gallon, up from about $3 a gallon before the war.In a recent CBS News poll, about half of Americans said elevated fuel costs are causing them financial difficulties. About eight in 10 of those polled said the Trump administration isn't focusing enough on lowering consumer prices.On Monday, Mr. Trump predicted that oil prices would "drop through the floor" when the Iran conflict is over. He also specifically criticized Chevron and ExxonMobil for profiting from higher oil prices, which have surged as the war largely halted the flow of crude transiting the Strait of Hormuz."But they made too much money, too much money. Chevron, too much money. Exxon Mobil, too much. Too much money," Mr. Trump said Monday at the Oval Office during an executive order signing. "I'm not happy about it"The president pressed oil companies to do more to help consumers. "When you look at one company, where they made 12 times what they made the year before, they're going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price, the consumer price," Mr. Trump said Monday. "I'll say it loud and clear: I'm not happy about it."
