Energy Secretary Wright on Election Day: 'The Best Cure for High Prices Is High Prices'

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business on the morning of Election Day, Nov. 3, that high fuel prices are the mechanism that will bring prices down.

"This is what capitalism's all about. The markets are sending that price mechanism as well," Wright said on "Big Money in the Morning." "Prices are high. The best cure for high prices is high prices, it grows supply."

The line landed on the day voters decide control of Congress for the last two years of Trump's term.

Where fuel prices stand

AAA puts the national average for gasoline at $4.15 a gallon and diesel at about $6.29. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote on X today that the national averages for both fuels set a "new election day record."

The increase traces to the Iran war. Iran's restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have hampered the energy industry.

Wright argued the worst is over. "Gasoline and diesel prices peaked in September, they're on their way down, and they will continue down meaningfully in the months ahead," he said.

He said the administration is "working with" producers to restart closed refineries and expand existing operations. He also said refined-product exports out of the Persian Gulf are increasing, and that energy production in India and the U.S. will rise.

The economics, and the objection

Wright's basic point is textbook. Higher prices encourage producers to supply more, and added supply pushes prices back down. It is also an argument for letting markets work rather than having Washington manage pump prices.

The New Republic, a center-left outlet, framed the remark as a "desperate final pitch" that "high prices are good." It argued that Wright left out the demand side, that consumers' disposable income "doesn't go as far," and that consumer confidence has fallen this year because of the Iran war and Trump's tariffs. Wright did not say high prices are good. He said they are the signal that produces more supply.

The timeline is the open question. Supply responses take months, and a refinery restart is not a switch.

Diesel is the harder problem

At a September panel hosted by Shipley Energy, a fuel and energy supplier, executives said diesel prices had stayed high even as crude oil eased, because the shortage is in refining capacity and inventory. They said East Coast distillate stocks were at record lows heading into winter, leaving little cushion for a cold snap.

That is a company's market read, not an official forecast. It does bear on Wright's claim that prices will keep falling meaningfully in the months ahead.

Trump says inflation is solved

Trump went further than Wright on Fox & Friends today. "Inflation is solved. Everything is great. Everybody respects us again, we have a great country," he said.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports annual inflation rose to 3.7% in September, from 3% when Trump's second term began in January 2025. By that measure inflation is higher than when he took office, not solved.

Polling shows voters noticing. In the October CNBC All-America Economic Survey, 34% of registered voters approved of Trump's handling of the economy, down from 38% in July, a survey low. Sixty-five percent disapproved. An NBC News Decision Desk Poll in October found 27% of U.S. adults approved of his handling of the cost of living, and 44% said their finances had worsened over the past year.

"I think the results are going to be better than you think," Trump said.

Other administration claims

Vice President JD Vance posted on X: "We ended taxes on overtime. We ended taxes on tips. We ended taxes on Social Security." The law is narrower than that. More than 40 states have not adopted the federal breaks for tips and overtime, so qualifying workers can still owe state tax on that income. The law also did not eliminate federal tax on Social Security benefits. It created a temporary deduction for older Americans that applies to income more broadly.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Newsmax that the U.S. will "have record exports this year for corn and wheat and cotton and other incredible American industries while those prices are rising." The New Republic reported that corn exports are actually down this year compared with previous years.

What comes next

Wright has put a marker down: prices peaked in September and will fall meaningfully over the coming months. The first test is this winter, when record-low East Coast distillate stocks meet whatever cold weather arrives and Hormuz shipping remains restricted.