Trump’s Appalling Address to the Nation Exposed Yet Another Dark Side to the U.S. Oil and Gas Boom: War

Last Wednesday evening, the world watched as the sitting president of the United States delivered yet another rambling and cruel tirade. We witnessed another example of how low this administration will go in pursuit of power, as Trump openly threatened Iran with war crimes, including destroying the power plants, essential civilian infrastructure, upon which tens of millions of Iranians depend. We heard Trump proudly claim that he is ready to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Ages where they belong.” 

If this wasn’t bad enough, and it’s pretty awful, Trump also boasted about U.S. oil and gas production being “number one”, and that the U.S. imports almost no oil from the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage in the Persian Gulf through which around 20% of the world’s petroleum used to pass before the U.S. and Israel started their reckless war. Trump then went on to urge the nations that do rely on imports from the Persian Gulf to “take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.”

Around the world, billions of people pay g the price. Hundreds of millions of people are under restricted work-week orders, potentially losing income they depend on due to fuel shortages. As energy costs surge, millions of families are forced to choose between paying for fuel and covering basic necessities. Farmers face skyrocketing fertilizer prices just as the planting season begins in the Global North. The World Food Program has warned that acute hunger could reach record levels in 2026 if the situation is not resolved soon. Trump is as oblivious as he is callous. 

But his boast about U.S. oil and gas production exposes yet another dark side of the U.S. fracking boom, now entering its third decade. On top of the severe health and environmental impacts from mostly low-income, Black, Brown, or Indigenous communities from North Dakota to Louisiana and beyond, and the climate impacts accelerated by the industry’s prolific emissions of methane, we can now add the hubris of starting a war in the world’s busiest commodities corridor, and the lives it has destroyed in doing so.

For years, the oil and gas industry and its allies have argued that the U.S. production boom strengthens national security by reducing reliance on imports from hostile countries. But what if the U.S. started one of the world’s most consequential conflicts in decades, not just because it wants to control the flow of oil, and Trump has boasted about that too, but perhaps in this case, because its reckless leaders also believed the country’s status as the world’s largest oil and gas producer insulated them from the risks.

For 47 years, U.S. presidents have wrestled with Iran’s regime, avoiding all-out conflict. Partly because they were likely unsure whether they could achieve a decisive victory, for exactly the reasons we currently do not see a path to swift resolution today. But clearly, the threat of chaos in the Strait of Hormuz has always been a factor in successive U.S. presidents stepping back from the brink of confronting Iran. Indeed, the U.S. Navy has been in the Persian Gulf since World War II with the precise intention of securing the flow of oil. 

We have to ask, then, what has changed? Why was this administration seemingly unconcerned about disrupting a significant proportion of the world’s oil supply, not to mention the other crucial commodities that the global economy relies on? Did they really think they could control the situation or win a decisive victory before it became a problem? Perhaps. 

But Trump’s statements and those of others in his administration suggest that the idea that the U.S. is rich in oil and gas may have influenced the decision to take action. In early February, as the military buildup in the Persian Gulf was gathering steam, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC, “The world is very well supplied with oil right now,” suggesting the President has “more leverage in his geopolitical actions to not worry about a crazy spike in oil prices.” The administration’s national security strategy, published in November 2025, states that, “Expanding our net energy exports will also deepen relationships with allies while curtailing the influence of adversaries, protect our ability to defend our shores, and—when and where necessary—enables us to project power.” (emphasis added)

Less than two weeks into the assault on Iran, Trump stated on social media that “the United States is the largest oil producer in the world, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” Nothing says “America First” better than decimating the global economy while boasting about turning a profit. 

The Trump administration’s “energy dominance” agenda has seen it threaten much of the world with extortionate tariffs while offering oil and gas sales far beyond the realms of reality as a salve for its threats. Take, for example, the deal with Europe, in which the EU is supposed to ramp up oil and gas imports from the U.S. to unrealistic levels to avoid tariffs that could decimate much of its exports. 

In the U.S., “energy dominance” is yet another tool used by the Trump administration to unravel the democratic system and harm communities, while he and his donors reap profit. Trump is gutting environmental protections and fast-tracking fossil fuel expansion in the U.S. He recently cited the war in Iran to invoke the Defense Production Act to restart an offshore oil platform and pipeline along the California coast that lacks necessary State approvals and was shut down over a decade ago after a spill released thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific.

As Trump continues to throw the world into chaos, killing thousands of innocent people in Iran and destroying livelihoods in almost every nation on earth, perhaps world leaders are realizing that Trump’s lust for riches and power will never align with the interests of their people. The world can no more rely on Trump’s dealmaking than it can on fossil fuels. This is a war brought to you by the fracking boom and the president it helped create. A world of insecurity and volatility, death and destruction. Let’s hope national leaders learn that switching oil and gas suppliers, as Europe did in 2022, will never be the answer. Transitioning away from fossil fuels will not guarantee peace, but it may be our best chance to break free from the cycles of conflict, coercion, and instability fossil fuels perpetuate and build a more secure and resilient future.