\n<\/p>\n
President Trump suggested on Sunday that elevated gasoline prices in the United States might not fall before the November midterm elections, a prediction that continued his mixed messaging and underscored potential political headwinds facing Republicans in the fall.<\/p>\n
Mr. Trump had long downplayed a sharp spike<\/a> in gas prices driven by the war in Iran by casting it as a \u201cshort-term increase\u201d that would subside within weeks. But on Sunday, Mr. Trump told Fox News<\/a> that while he hoped gas and oil costs would drop before the midterms, prices \u201cshould be around the same\u201d in November \u2014 and might be \u201ca little bit higher.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the weekend, marathon talks between Iranian and U.S. leaders in Pakistan ended without a breakthrough. Oil prices rose after the negotiations foundered.<\/p>\n Strategists in both parties said on Sunday that Mr. Trump\u2019s latest comments posed a challenge for Republicans, who are working to defend their majorities in the House and Senate, as an unpopular war drives up the costs of energy and goods. Douglas Heye, a Republican strategist, said Mr. Trump\u2019s rhetoric was adding to Republicans\u2019 headaches and making it harder for them to blame inflation on President Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a very big obstacle,\u201d Mr. Heye said of the rising price of gas and other goods. \u201cIt was a big obstacle \u2014 that just got a little taller.\u201d<\/p>\n When gas prices rise, the popularity of the president typically falls<\/a>. And Democrats have made fuel costs a central part of their argument against Republicans for the midterms.<\/p>\n Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement that if Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance\u2019s \u201cmidterm pitch to Americans is higher gas prices by Election Day, Republicans are in big, big trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and gas traveled before the war. On Sunday, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $4.13, according to AAA<\/a>, the motor club, up more than $1 over the last two months<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n