Illinois Governor JB Pritzker used the Labor Day holiday weekend to launch a fresh broadside against President Donald Trump, tying a cluster of rising consumer costs — from record diesel prices to a spike in food recalls to more expensive plane tickets — directly to the ongoing U.S. war in Iran and the administration’s economic stewardship.
In a post published to X on Sunday, September 6, 2026, at 4:04 p.m., Pritzker wrote in full:
“Diesel prices are at an all-time record high with gas prices up, too.
Food recalls for Salmonella and E. coli continue to increase.
Flights are more expensive than ever due to the ongoing war in Iran.
You can thank Donald Trump for that this Labor Day weekend.”
Diesel and Gas Prices Break Records Heading Into the Holiday
Pritzker’s claim about record-high diesel prices lines up with data released in the days before his post. The national average price of diesel hit $5.85 per gallon on Friday, September 4, 2026, surpassing the previous all-time high of $5.819 per gallon set in June 2022 during the early months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to AAA figures cited in national reporting. GasBuddy’s petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan separately confirmed the new full-day official national average for diesel at $5.848 per gallon, also eclipsing the June 2022 mark.
Gasoline prices climbed alongside diesel. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded reached $4.14 to $4.15 heading into the holiday weekend, marking the first time the average has topped $4 on Labor Day and breaking a record of $3.82 set on September 3, 2012. A year earlier, drivers were paying just $3.19 a gallon.
This is not the first time Pritzker has used the diesel benchmark to criticize the administration. Days earlier, after GasBuddy reported Illinois had recorded diesel at $6.06 per gallon, Pritzker wrote on X: “Donald Trump is a liar,” accusing the administration of falsely claiming the Iran war was nearly over and that fuel prices were falling.
Pritzker also responded directly to Vice President JD Vance’s suggestion that Americans should be grateful gas prices are not higher, writing on X: “JD Vance says Americans should be grateful gas prices aren’t higher. Diesel just hit a record $5.82 a gallon. This administration wants you to be thankful they haven’t screwed you worse.”
Food Recalls for Salmonella and E. Coli Have Climbed Sharply
Pritzker’s post also pointed to rising food recalls tied to Salmonella and E. coli. Federal data supports the claim: the FDA tied 12 recalls in August 2026 to Salmonella, compared with just two in July 2026 and only one each in August 2025 and August 2024 — a sixfold monthly increase. Recalled products spanned produce, pantry goods, and prepared foods, including mangoes, radish mixes, alfalfa sprouts, jalapeños, granola, and pistachio nut butter sold through retailers including Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s.
The FDA is also actively investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and Salmonella tied to sprouts, in which Minnesota-based Everything Sprouts, LLC expanded its recall on August 28, 2026, to include additional lots of radish sprout mix after cross-contamination concerns.
The summer’s food safety troubles extended beyond Salmonella and E. coli. A Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce sickened more than 10,000 people, caused over 400 hospitalizations, and led to at least two deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, described the scale of the outbreaks as “unprecedented” relative to current public health staffing levels.
Flights Grow More Expensive as Jet Fuel Costs Soar
Pritzker’s post specifically linked rising airfare to “the ongoing war in Iran.” Airline industry data backs up the connection. Jet fuel prices jumped from roughly $85 to $90 per barrel before the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran to as much as $150 to $200 per barrel in the weeks that followed, according to multiple airline disclosures.
U.S. airlines spent 56.4% more on jet fuel in March 2026, the month after the strikes began, compared to February — a jump from $3.23 billion to $5.06 billion in monthly fuel spending, according to Department of Transportation data.
Those costs have not eased heading into the fall travel season. The average domestic airfare this fall stands at $326 per ticket, up 39% compared to last year, according to Hopper Technology Solutions data. International fares are also elevated, up 33% to Europe, 31% to Mexico and Central America, and 17% to Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told investors that higher fares are likely to persist even if fuel costs eventually decline, saying, “The longer consumers pay these prices and airlines get used to this revenue stream, the more likely it is [to hold].”
A Pattern of Pritzker Statements Blaming Trump for Rising Costs
Sunday’s post is the latest in a sustained pattern of public statements from Pritzker’s office connecting economic strain in Illinois to the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war and broader trade policy. In April 2026, Pritzker sent a letter to congressional leaders warning that “mounting pressure on the agriculture economy can be traced directly back to recent federal policy decisions,” citing both tariffs and instability tied to the war in Iran as forces squeezing Illinois farmers.
In August 2026, Pritzker sent letters to the chief executives of the nation’s largest oil companies demanding answers about record industry profits while Illinois families faced high prices at the pump, questioning why companies were “failing to help ease the burden on Illinois drivers” as the Iran war entered its sixth month.
That same month, Pritzker sent a follow-up letter to Trump demanding direct relief for Illinois families affected by tariffs, referencing an earlier invoice his office sent the administration for more than $8.6 billion — the equivalent of $1,700 per Illinois household — to account for higher costs imposed by tariff policy.
Pritzker has also directly criticized the administration’s public statements about the war’s economic toll. During a press availability in May 2026, Pritzker said Illinois residents were “paying more than $1.50 more” per gallon “as a result of this war of choice by Donald Trump,” and called on the administration to end the conflict as a first step toward economic relief.
Broader Economic Backdrop
The cumulative financial toll of the war has drawn attention beyond Illinois. According to Brown University’s Climate Solutions Lab, Americans have paid an extra $97 billion since the Iran war began due to higher gas and diesel prices — more than $740 per household nationwide.
The Trump administration has taken several steps aimed at easing energy costs, including a Strategic Petroleum Reserve release, eased refining regulations, and a newly announced oil deal with Venezuela. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that prices are “more likely to go down than go up,” while declining to offer a firm timeline for relief.
Pritzker’s Sunday post came as the cost-of-living issue continues to dominate the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, now roughly two months away, with rising fuel, food, and travel costs emerging as a central line of attack for Democratic officials against the administration’s economic record.