For months, the American president has been searching for ways to ease his party’s political pain.
He recently pressured European allies to further tap their oil reserves. He deferred federal taxes on the fuel and authorised supplies designated for farm use to be used in interstate trucking.
He has also promised that he would not renew attacks on Iran until after the midterms – an unusually frank acknowledgement of the political impact the ongoing conflict is having.
His decision to strike a deal with Russia’s Putin is only the latest, most dramatic effort.
Trump’s Truth Social posts often provide incomplete information, of course. The details of exactly how Russia is supplying this fuel to the global market, and what they might get for in return – besides much-needed hard currency – is unclear.
It opens Trump to criticism from European allies and American politicians that his administration is now helping to fund the Russian war machine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the deal a “gift” to Putin that Russia would “repay” with “terror and perfidy”.
“Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged,” he wrote on X.
It is also uncertain exactly how much Trump’s move will help Republicans at the ballot box.
The promised European diesel release hasn’t moved energy prices significantly, and there’s no information on the speed with which Russian fuel could enter the market.
Its diesel refinery capacity has been damaged by repeated Ukrainian strikes – attacks that Trump has encouraged Zelensky to curtail.
The US uses approximately 3.6 million barrels of diesel a day, so even if Russia delivers its promised 300,000 tons this month, that amounts to approximately half of the US daily consumption.
Americans may not notice much of an immediate difference.
With less than a month before November’s midterm elections, early voting has already started in many states. The political cake, as the saying goes, is all but baked.
“Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
But over the past seven months, prices on energy, fuel and consumer goods have only gone up – even as Trump and his officials have repeatedly assured an uneasy public a successful resolution to the war, and an easing of its economic impact, is nearly at hand.
Trump may be left hoping that his latest deal, setting aside its potentially uncomfortable diplomatic issues, will be enough to convince American voters that his promise of impending economic relief is more than just empty words.
