California State Senator Scott Wiener said President Donald Trump started what he called an illegal and disastrous war that raised global energy costs, then made a deal with Russia to try to lower them, and that the deal tells Ukraine and Europe the United States does not have their backs against Russian aggression. The diesel volumes he was answering are in a presidential social-media post. They are not in a White House release.
“Start an illegal, disastrous war that explodes global energy costs and then make a deal with the devil to try to lower them — sending a clear message to Ukraine and Europe that the U.S. does not in any way, shape, or form have their backs against Russian aggression,” Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, wrote Friday. “Without a doubt the worst, most incompetent, and most corrupt President in U.S. history.” He attached an image of a post by Trump. His office site did not carry a separate release.
In that post, Trump said he had “just concluded a highly successful discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and global marketplace, another 500,000 tons in November, 1,000,000 tons after that, and then 3,000,000 tons within a short period, based on the condition of Russian refineries. He said that between “TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz” and the Russian announcement, diesel prices would come down “in record numbers, and fast.” He named farmers, ranchers, and truckers, and added that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. Those figures are his claim. No White House fact sheet or transcript posted this week confirms the discussion or the volumes.
The administration’s published diesel policy is a tax change and a European release. An Oct. 5 White House fact sheet said Trump signed an executive order to temporarily allow off-road dyed diesel for highway use and to defer the federal excise tax for the rest of the year, without interest or penalties. It said the order directs the Treasury secretary, in consultation with the secretary of war, to defer the tax, and directs the Agriculture secretary to ensure farmers’ access in high-demand areas. It said the step could save truckers over $100 a refill. A companion release put the federal diesel tax at 24.4 cents a gallon, about $60 on a 250-gallon fill.
That fact sheet names the Russia-Ukraine war as a cause of tight supply, not as a source of new Russian fuel. It said restricted global diesel supply, “driven by the Russia-Ukraine war and a lack of refining capacity,” had raised prices. It said Trump had negotiated with Europe to release 100 million barrels of refined diesel from strategic reserves within four months. It also said that in August he announced an oil deal with Venezuela for 65 billion barrels. It does not mention Putin, a Russian diesel sale, or the tonnage in the post Wiener attached.
On the strait, an Aug. 28 White House release said U.S. Central Command had confirmed that the United States, not Iran, controls the Strait of Hormuz. It said Iranian mines had been cleared from international lanes, that nearly 1,500 commercial vessels had moved through under U.S. protection carrying 750 million barrels of crude, that Iran had exported no oil from its shores since the blockade resumed in July, and that 75 vessels that tried to break the blockade were turned around. It quoted Trump on Aug. 10: “We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall… We control the Strait, 100%.” The release does not mention diesel or Russia. It is the official basis for the “total control” line in the Putin post.
The war Wiener called illegal is Operation Epic Fury, on the administration’s account. A March 12 White House release said the objectives were to destroy Iran’s missiles and the capacity to build more, annihilate its navy, prevent a nuclear weapon, and stop it from arming forces outside its borders. It did not describe the operation as a war over energy prices, and it did not mention Russia, Ukraine, or diesel.
Wiener’s reading joins three things the published record keeps apart. He called the Iran war illegal and disastrous and said it exploded energy costs. He called the Putin discussion a deal with the devil meant to lower those costs. He said the deal abandons Ukraine and Europe against Russian aggression. The fact sheet treats the Russia-Ukraine war as one driver of tight diesel supply, and treats a European reserve release, not a Russian sale, as the negotiated relief. The Strait release treats control of the waterway as a military fact about Iran.
“Deal with the devil,” “illegal,” and “worst, most incompetent, and most corrupt” are Wiener’s. Trump called the discussion highly successful. The fact sheet’s confirmed steps are a dyed-diesel tax deferral, a claimed European release of 100 million barrels, and a stated link between the Russia-Ukraine war and diesel supply. The Russian tonnage remains a presidential post. Wiener’s charge is a state senator’s reading of that post.