Donald Trump addresses gasoline prices and U.S. election integrity

Donald Trump has attributed rising gasoline prices to refinery disruptions rather than issues in the Strait of Hormuz. He cited Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and refinery closures in states like California as primary drivers of the price increases, noting that oil exports from the Gulf have reached 72% of pre-war levels.

In the Middle East, Iran’s oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has resigned following a US Navy blockade that officials say is “strangling” the country and causing its trade to fall. While crude flow through the Strait of Hormuz is at approximately half of pre-war levels, analysts report that oil exports from the region have rebounded.

Separately, Trump questioned the integrity of the U.S. election system by comparing the speed of American results to Brazil’s presidential election. He noted that Brazil released results for 125 million voters shortly after polls closed, whereas results in U.S. cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia can take significantly longer to calculate. In Brazil, the election is moving to a runoff between Flavio Bolsonaro and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after no candidate secured a majority.