There was a strange smell of lukewarm fries and salty grease hanging in the air outside the Oval Office this past Monday. President Trump invited a DoorDash driver, Sharon Simmons from Arkansas, to the White House to talk up his tax policies. It was supposed to be a standard, feel-good political win. But honestly? It mostly just ended up being a glaring spotlight on the massive headache that fuel prices have become for everyone who isn’t flying on Air Force One.
Ever since the administration moved to attack Iran back in late February, gas prices have been on an absolute tear. We are looking at an average of $4.13 a gallon now, which is roughly a dollar higher than before all the chaos started. You can feel the tension in the commute, the way people watch the pumps—it’s just exhausting. Even DoorDash had to scramble, launching an “emergency gas relief program” just to keep their drivers from quitting. It’s pretty ironic that the very person the President brought to the White House is part of the exact demographic being crushed by his own energy policies.
Misryoum notes that while the White House was busy pushing the “Working Families Tax Cut Act”—talking about how much cash Sharon supposedly saved on her tax return because of tip deductions—the actual reality for gig workers is a lot bleaker. These drivers are shelling out way more just to keep their cars moving, and a tax credit for tips barely touches the surface of that weekly budget gap.
Then things got even weirder when the cameras were rolling. Trump started taking questions about the war, and he had poor Sharon standing right there, looking like she wanted to be literally anywhere else. He started talking about the ceasefire and the “sticking point” of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. You could see the transition—from fast food tax talk to international blockades—it was all a bit disjointed. He actually mentioned blockading the Strait of Hormuz, which of course sent oil prices spiking again.
It’s not just the gas stations, though. Everything is getting expensive, from your groceries to your light bill. March saw the sharpest inflation jump in four years, and it’s starting to really hit home for people like Joshua Elliott, a driver in Atlanta. He told Misryoum that he’s basically working an extra hour or two every week just to break even compared to what he was making before the war.
That’s an hour or two less of rest. Or maybe it’s just gone, absorbed into the cost of existence now. It’s the kind of grind that doesn’t make for a great press release—but then again, the White House probably wasn’t looking for that, right? They just wanted the burger shot, and instead, they got the reality of a country struggling to pay for the fuel to get to work.