As the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz persists, gas prices keep soaring. While the average cost of a gallon of gas hovers around $4.50 nationwide, in places like California, it's over $6.00. The price of gas, in turn, makes everything more expensive, as nearly all consumer goods are transported by truck, spiking diesel and gas prices and acting as a hidden tax on the entire supply chain. And the American people are feeling it.

On top of the three-fifths of Americans struggling to pay for basic necessities like food, electricity, and gas, the New York Times report found that an additional 59% of Americans have had to cut back on extras and entertainment.

On May 28, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, released a statement after the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported an annual personal consumption expenditures price index of 3.8% in April 2026.

He stated, “If an economic policy will make life harder for American families, you can count on President Trump to try it. His tariff taxes were bad enough, but now his disastrous war against Iran has sent prices at the pump skyrocketing. By driving up fertilizer and transportation costs, Trump’s war on Iran is also making Americans pay even more at the grocery store.”

The statement went on, “Americans are struggling, but Trump and Republicans in Washington can’t be bothered to help. Unless you can cut a check for his ballroom, Donald Trump clearly couldn’t care less about you.”

Currently, approximately 10.6% of the US population, or 35.9 million people, live below the poverty line.

YouGov's Allen Houston wrote in an email release on Wednesday that, "Only one in three Americans approves of how Donald Trump is handling his job as president, lower than Trump's approval in any weekly Economist/YouGov Poll over his two terms as president, and lower than Joe Biden ever received during his term."

As US President Trump’s approval ratings reach an all-time low, the majority of Americans, across party lines, feel that Trump and Republicans are making life more expensive for working families struggling with skyrocketing healthcare costs. They continue to prioritize costly initiatives like Trump’s gold-plated ballroom, wars of choice, ICE, and tax breaks for billionaires, rather than addressing the financial burdens on ordinary Americans.

This week, the Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion fund, drawing on taxpayer dollars, to compensate those who "suffered weaponization and lawfare" at the hands of the government. Through this fund, individuals, including some convicted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, can seek compensation.

This all comes following Trump’s recent statement where he dismissed a question about skyrocketing prices amid the war against Iran, calling the issue "peanuts." He then admitted, “I don't even think about that.”