What happened to “drill, baby, drill”? President Trump used this line repeatedly during his campaign. You Trump folks were screaming during the Biden years about the cost of fuel even though under President Biden’s administration, the United States achieved record-high oil production, even surpassing previous records under President Trump. The cost of gas is pretty much the same here in Pennsylvania as it was last year, but I was told “drill, baby, drill would solve this issue. So, what happened to this genius plan of President Trump?
Let me help you with this, this is called economic reality vs political rhetoric. A lot of politicians run into this problem, but it is a self-inflicted wound.
The realities of the market have prevented a new “drill, baby, drill” boom:
- Industry caution: Many oil executives say the days of focusing on maximum volume are over. Companies are now prioritizing cost management and capital discipline to deliver returns to investors, a shift from the rapid expansion of the 2010s.
- Market volatility: Energy industry experts note that volatility from Trump’s policies, such as tariffs on steel imports, can harm the industry and make new drilling unsustainable.
- Declining production: The number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. decreased in the first half of 2025 under the Trump administration, a reversal of the post-pandemic rebound seen under former President Biden.
- Investor pressure: As a result of these factors, Wall Street’s focus on profits is winning out over the political pressure to ramp up drilling.
Political campaign promises are a great deal different than governing but let’s be honest, this administration has no interest in governing. Gaslighting is another story, and President Trump is good at that. Oil production under the Biden administration was at a record high and prices stayed stagnant, wonder why?
In April 2020, Donald Trump cut a deal with Vladimir Putin, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and OPEC to intentionally increase oil prices and bail out his biggest oil donors after a price war between Russia and the Saudis sent oil prices plunging. Trump cut the deal after his biggest fossil fuel backers lost billions from their net worth in just weeks, including Trump’s most crucial oil donor, Harold Hamm, who convinced Trump to bail the oil industry out after he lost 3 billion in days. Hamm leveraged his years of support for Trump, convincing him to host a whole roomful of oil executives at the White House to hash out the deal. Attendees included Kelcy Warren, Jeff Hildebrand, Vicki Hollub, and, of course, Harold Hamm.
All of these names are not household names to the everyday Joe but they all responded to Trump’s April 2024 request for $1 billion to his campaign by cohosting multiple fundraisers for him. That includes the CEO who told Trump that she was upset at the FTC for requesting her cell phone record while they were reportedly investigating her over allegations of potential collusion with OPEC to raise gas prices. There’s that campaign thing again.
What’s this have to do with today, well, OPEC is now increasing oil production which will lead to lower gas prices but not that’s not OPEC’S concern. OPEC is not a fan of the US Shale industry, OPEC and its allies (OPEC+) are attempting to regain market share and hurt U.S. shale producers by boosting output and putting downward pressure on oil prices, which targets shale’s higher production costs. Also, Sept 15 is when oil companies switch from summer blend fuel to winter blend which is also cheaper to produce.
I’m sure President Trump will show up on Fox or Newsmax in the coming weeks telling us how he personally drove fuel cost down, it’s just more gaslighting and certainly has nothing to do with “drill, baby, drill”.