Featured Image Credit: Win McNamee / Staff via Getty
President Donald Trump has vowed to give back to the general public, and as he continues the second year of his second term, he's unveiled Freedom Fuel as a way to supposedly drive down fuel prices.
We saw firsthand how the elongated war with Iran drove up the price of everything from household bills to gas, with the airline industry also passing down its own increased cost to customers. In April 2026, we reported how Americans were facing astronomical gas prices, as California peaked at $5.891 per gallon.
Things have started to calm down, and with Donald Trump rolling out his first phase of Freedom Fuel stations, Americans should be able to save more than a few cents. Unfortunately for the current administration, skeptics have crunched the numbers and suggested this might be another white lie from the White House.
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The official White House X account shared a Freedom Fuel promo video, boasting about how the 47th President of the United States is "lowering the price at the pump." It was all smiles at Philadelphia’s first Freedom Fuel gas station, where prices sit at a reasonable $3.47 per gallon. The .47 is in honor of the POTUS.
The official Freedom Fuels site lists 25 stations, with five in New Jersey and the other 20 in Philly.
Although $3.47 is a marked improvement over the average April gas price of between $4.09 and $4.24 per gallon in Philadelphia, MeidasTouch News reports that internet sleuths have used Google Maps data to mock Freedom Fuel's effectiveness.
— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@AdamKinzinger) July 7, 2026
One Freedom Fuel station appears to be a rebranded Sunoco station in New Jersey, but if you check Google Maps ahead of Trump's second term, a November 2024 snapshot lists prices as low as $2.99.
While on the campaign trail, Trump championed lower gas prices and even bragged about getting us below $2 a gallon. The national average was sitting in the low $3 range when he returned to office in January 2025, still making this seemingly bargain price of $3.47 quite the leap.
As for the mythical $2, we're some way off that pledge.
Freedom Fuel's pricing hasn't gone unnoticed, with former Rep. Adam Kinzinger venting: "You raise prices, then pretend when they go down you’re some savior Besides, all your supporters spent the last half year telling us presidents don’t control gas prices?"
Rep. Jim McGovern chimed in saying: "Government-subsidized grocery stores = Communism. Government run gas stations = Freedom. Got it."
Political journalist Aaron Rupar added: "The average price of gas when Biden left office was $3.12. Trump wants to throw a parade for himself over one station where it's $3.47."
Jared Holt, a senior researcher at Open Measures, said: "Going through all that trouble and the best they can do is $3.47 per gallon? What a joke."
Finally, the PatriotTakes X account that famously disputed Turning Point USA's halftime show figures concluded: "Trump campaigned on $2 gas prices. Why is the White House bragging about $3.47?"
Even though we'll take small wins wherever we can get them, it's clear that Freedom Fuel could be running on empty when it comes to getting support from the president's critics.
