'I did that.' Gas pump stickers show political volleying of gas prices

• Gas prices have risen more than $1 per gallon since the beginning of February.
• President Trump has stated that a temporary rise in gas prices is worth it to eliminate threats from Iran.
• Stickers blaming the current president for high gas prices, once used against Joe Biden, are now appearing with Trump's image.

President Donald Trump has long touted low gas prices as an improvement of his administration compared to former President Joe Biden's administration.

Now, as of March 20, the average price of a gallon of regular gas is higher than it has been since October 2022, according to AAA. At $3.912, AAA shows the price of gas has risen more than $1 per gallon since the beginning of February. Trump has responded to questions about rising gas prices by saying that eliminating Iranian threats will be worth the temporary rise in gas prices.

But Trump ran on affordability in 2024, and now Democrats have been campaigning on the issue even as Trump has called it a "scam." But Trump has polled poorly on the issue for months now, even before gas prices started rising.

"Gas prices were a real saving grace for Trump in January," Charles Franklin, the director at the Marquette Law School Poll, told USA TODAY in an interview. "The bundling of the pre-existing concern with inflation and the cost of living, and now this one element of that that was a bright spot in January is a very dark spot today."

What were the gas prices under Biden vs. Trump?

Trump and his allies have often taken credit for low gas prices in his first term, using high prices under the Biden administration as a campaign talking point.

Throughout the end of 2018, gas prices fell after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries contributed to oversupply of the market.

Again in 2020, as travel around the world came to a screeching halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prices fell. Simultaneously, major suppliers were having a price feud as fear of recessions loomed, and many states saw prices dip below $2 per gallon.

Then demand for gas returned as the pandemic shutdowns lifted. Climbing gas prices throughout 2021 led Biden to dip into the emergency oil reserves, but it did little to stop growing prices at the gas pump. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, impacting global supply and raising prices further. In the month after the invasion, prices jumped up nearly $1 per gallon in the U.S. on average. In an effort to bring those prices down, Biden ordered the release of up to 180 million barrels of oil from the country's national emergency reserve, the largest release in the reserve's history.

The highest recorded price per gallon of regular gas was on June 14, 2022, at $5.016, according to AAA, which also shows gas has gone up more than 70 cents in the last year of Trump's presidency as of March 19.

Here is a look at the gas prices during the past 10 years between the Biden and Trump presidencies, per AAA.

'I did that' stickers make a comeback

Experts usually say that gas prices are a result of the global market, and one president can do little to affect the prices. But this scenario is a bit different.

"I think the obvious thing is presidents do have control over the international gas market by attacking Iran and letting them close the Strait of Hormuz," Franklin said. In other words, there is little to do to bring prices down significantly, but driving prices up was a predictable outcome of engaging in a conflict in the Middle East.

Franklin told USA TODAY when gas prices dominated messaging at the Republican National Convention in 2024 that they are often viewed through a partisan lens. When gas prices are up, the party not in power is likely to pin it on the party in power.

Back under the Biden administration, stickers popped up on gas pumps with a picture of Biden and the caption, "I did that."

Now it's Trump's turn. Etsy sellers, TikTok Shop and Amazon are all selling Trump "I did that" stickers. Social media users have posted pictures of the stickers on pumps around the country. One commenter shared a picture of a sticker on a gas pump in swing state Arizona, where gas prices are among the most expensive in the country at $4.459 on average as of March 20, according to AAA.

What has Trump said about gas prices?

The Trump administration announced on March 18 it would waive the Jones Act for 60 days in hopes of easing disruptions in the oil market caused by the war in Iran.

"We have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop I believe lower than ever before," Trump said in the Oval Office on March 3. He also told Reuters in an exclusive March 5 interview on gas price increases that he doesn't "have any concern about it," saying the military operation "is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit."

Trump called the rising prices, "a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace," in a March 8 Truth Social post.

Trump also said the U.S. stands to benefit from rising gas prices.

"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," Trump said in a March 12 Truth Social post. "BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping (sic) an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World. I won’t ever let that happen!"

“Americans are feeling it right now. Americans will feel it for a few more weeks,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on March 15. He also said there is a "good chance" gas could drop bellow $3 per gallon by summer.

Contributing: Karissa Waddick, Phillip M. Bailey, Michael Collins, Sara Chernikoff, Mike Snider, Nathan Bomey, Jazmin Goodwin, Joey Garrison, Rachel Barber, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter), Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.