During the 2024 campaign, it was widely reported that Trump asked oil executives to funnel him $1 billion toward his election. Could this Iran conflict -- and the drastic increases in oil prices -- be his way of repaying the oil execs who backed his campaign? Just some thoughts to consider.
By screwing with the Strait of Hormuz, the global price of oil has drastically increased. However, as JVL and Catherine Rampell noted on Receipts Live, oil production in the US has not increased during Trump's term. So it stands to reason that US oil companies have not had to do any additional investment in infrastructure, staffing, etc., and yet still have booming prices for their products. And profits.
Could the simplest explanation for this Iran quagmire be that Trump is disrupting global oil supply to return the favor to oil execs who backed his 2024 campaign?
My view is that the goal of this administration is to extract as much wealth as possible during its time in power. This administration has proven time and again it does not give a single shit about the pain of the American people. It does not care about the future of the United States. By extension, it does not care about the electoral future of the Republican Party. Through this lens of wealth accumulation being the goal, the logic of "Trump is doing this to enrich his campaign backers at the expense of the American people" is not a far stretch.
Curious for the community's thoughts.