President Trump offered an unusual explanation for fluctuating gas prices during a campaign-style speech in Michigan, comparing the process to playing a musical instrument as Republican strategists worry rising costs could hurt the party in November.
“Down faster than at any time in the last six years,” Trump said of fuel prices, according to official White House video of his July 27 remarks. “When the fuel comes down, which it did for a little while, then they didn’t behave, and I had to go back, and now they’re behaving again. You know, it’s like playing a banjo. But every day we’re fighting to put more money in the—” Trump did not elaborate on the banjo comparison.
Trump delivered the remarks at the General Motors Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan, where he toured the automaker’s facilities and watched a race between two Corvettes before addressing a rally-style crowd ahead of the state’s Aug. 4 primary, according to Washington Post reporting on the visit. Michigan’s economy is heavily tied to the automotive industry and conducts tens of billions of dollars in trade with Canada, a relationship complicated by Trump’s announcement the prior week that he would impose additional 50 percent tariffs on a range of Canadian goods, including autos, alcohol and dairy products, under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The tariffs, set to take effect 30 days after the announcement, were framed by the administration as a response to what it called Canada’s “discriminatory treatment” of American exports, according to an official White House fact sheet on the action.
Gas prices have climbed again since fighting resumed in the Iran war earlier this month, frustrating economists who had seen inflation beginning to ease in June. Jason Cabel Roe, a Michigan campaign strategist working on Rep. Tom Barrett’s reelection campaign, acknowledged the political risk even while defending the underlying strategy. “We are going to have to navigate a difficult time in terms of oil prices and the impact on the economy,” Roe said. “But removing one of the most hostile actors towards the United States of the last 50 years from the board is a pretty significant accomplishment.” Roe added, “I’m a little nervous right now,” with the midterm election roughly 100 days away.
The visit doubled as an endorsement stop for Rep. John James, Trump’s chosen Republican nominee for governor, whose primary rival Perry Johnson hosted a competing “Trump Tailgate” event in Milford the same day despite lacking Trump’s support. Trump also introduced Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, incorrectly claiming Rogers “won last time” in reference to the 2024 Senate race, which Rogers lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin by a margin of 48.6 percent to 48.3 percent, according to certified results reported by the Associated Press.
Trump used part of the speech to attack Democrats rather than focus on economic policy, telling the crowd Republicans are “running against communists now” and warning that Democrats want to “take your houses” and raise taxes. He did not mention Abdul El-Sayed, one of two Democrats competing in Michigan’s contested Senate primary against Rep. Haley Stevens, a race that has become a proxy fight between the party’s establishment and further-left wings.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized the trip in floor remarks the same day. “Trump going to Michigan today to tout his economic record is like an arsonist returning to the scene of the crime and asking for a pat on the back,” Schumer said.
Republican pollster Brent Buchanan of Cygnal said the party’s strongest path forward is to shift focus away from the economy entirely. “The election for Republicans has to come down to: You may not like us, but those people are way worse,” Buchanan said. National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella pointed to tax cuts, border security and crime reduction as the party’s preferred talking points, saying Republicans have “enough ammo to be able to push out as much positive messaging as possible.”
Not everyone in the crowd was reassured. Patrick Wlodyga, 22, a dialysis technician who said he admires Trump’s leadership style, said he wants the war funding to stop so gas prices can fall. “I know he’s trying to do his best, but it’s hurting Americans,” Wlodyga said. “That was sort of his whole thing, ‘America First.’ He’s pushing America, as opposed to Americans.”
Doug Heye, a longtime Republican operative and former aide to then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, said new tariffs that took effect last week compound the political risk. “Anything that would exacerbate inflation doesn’t make much political sense and should be a concern for any Republican on the ballot,” Heye said.
Away from the rally, Detroit food vendor Armetris Hare, 53, said rising gas prices had wiped out the profits from her mobile catering business, forcing her to consider selling her food truck. “The economy? I got two words: It sucks,” Hare said. “I want Trump to make America great again, but not the way he did it.”
Trump has separately called voter concerns about affordability a “hoax” and told reporters he likes inflation, comments that have complicated Republican efforts to keep the midterm message focused on economic policy rather than the president’s own remarks.