Were bidens gas prices higher than trumps second term
Executive summary
Average retail gasoline prices were higher during Joe Biden’s presidency than they were during Donald Trump’s prior term; federal Energy Information Administration (EIA)–based summaries cited by fact-checkers put the average at roughly $3.53–$3.60 per gallon under Biden versus about $2.46 per gallon for Trump’s four years [1] [2] [3], though short-term peaks and troughs and the differing policy and global contexts surrounding each presidency complicate a simple apples‑to‑apples political judgment.
1. The raw numbers and how credible outlets report them
Multiple independent fact-checkers and energy-data summaries show a clear numeric gap: the EIA-based averages most commonly cited put Trump’s four‑year average around $2.46 per gallon and Biden’s average so far in the mid‑$3.50s per gallon [1] [3], and analysts at Forbes reported Biden’s average near $3.60/gallon and noted a record weekly high of roughly $5.07/gallon in June 2022 during the recovery from COVID and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [2].
2. Why those averages can mislead without context
Averages fold together very different economic moments: much of Trump’s lowest average was driven by the collapse in demand and oil prices during the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2020, while Biden’s higher average includes the 2021–2022 global rebound in demand and pandemic aftershocks plus supply shocks around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that pushed prices to record weekly highs [1] [2]. Analysts and fact‑checkers warn that presidents have limited direct control over pump prices, which are set largely by global crude markets, refining capacity and demand, and not solely by U.S. executive actions [4].
3. Claims about “collapse” or dramatic reversals in a later Trump term
White House statements from Trump’s later administration assert that gas prices fell to multi‑year lows after Trump returned to office in 2025, and that Biden’s averages had been the “highest they had ever been” [5] [6], but those claims are partisan framing and omit that much of the downward movement in prices in early 2024–2025 began while Biden remained in office, according to PolitiFact analysis [7]. Independent fact‑checking outlets have repeatedly found that both sides cherry‑pick time windows to make political points about gasoline costs [8].
4. The peak vs. the mean: what voters remember
Political rhetoric often focuses on peaks — for Biden, the summer 2022 $5/gallon-plus episode provided a salient grievance [2] — whereas statistical comparisons typically rely on multi‑month or multi‑year averages that smooth spikes and dips and are the best measure for comparing entire presidential terms [1] [2]. Fact‑checkers note that monthly prices under Trump’s presidency “never cracked $3” while Biden’s monthly average exceeded $3 starting in May 2021, a useful short‑hand for the change in the typical pump price visible to consumers [3].
5. Verdict: direct answer to whether Biden’s gas prices were higher than Trump’s second term
If the question is interpreted strictly as a comparison between typical pump prices under Biden’s presidency and those during Donald Trump’s earlier full term, the answer is yes — Biden’s average retail gasoline price was higher than Trump’s four‑year average [1] [3]. If the question instead compares Biden’s averages to prices during Trump’s second term (2025 onward), sources show official Trump‑era communications claiming lower prices after 2025 [9] [5], but independent fact‑checking and timeline analyses indicate much of the downward movement began before Trump’s return and that partisan communications overstate the causal role of each president [7] [8]. In short: Biden presided over higher average pump prices than Trump’s earlier presidency; comparisons to Trump’s second term must be treated as time‑window dependent and politically charged.