California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wants to blame President Donald Trump for gas prices. But actually, he and his fellow Democrats are responsible for the egregious prices right in Newsom's home state.
Yes, the conflict with Iran has affected gas prices, but the reality is that the price difference between, say, rural Texas and Southern California can be as much as several dollars a gallon because of California Dems' decisions. Furthermore, Newsom might rant about the price of diesel right now, but he fully supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, under whom gas prices were destructively high.
Great work, @realDonaldTrump! https://t.co/EVAmdUEwI4
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 4, 2026
Newsom is a hypocrite. He has caused gas prices to go up much higher in his state than Trump's policies ever drove them up nationwide. First of all, there's the Commiefornia gas tax. California's state gas tax is the highest in the nation. Fuel Wide explains, "Every gallon carries the federal tax of $0.18, and then whatever the state adds. California adds the most at $0.90; Alaska the least at $0.09. The average state levies $0.35." So California's tax is $0.55 above the average.
But that's not all. As recently as late 2024, under Newsom's governorship, the California Air Resources Board changed its Low Carbon Fuel Standard, one of the moves designed to make it as difficult as possible for ordinary people to own gas-powered cars instead of taking public transportation. CARB thereby jacked up the price of gas again.
Indeed, useless environmental regulations are a huge part of the problem with prices in California, not just for gas but across multiple industries. Newsom and other Democrats, despite jetting around the world and owning beachfront mansions, keep claiming falsely that there is an existential climate crisis. In reality, they just want an excuse to make many types of property, like cars and homes, and gas-powered stoves unaffordable for most people, reserving them for the elites.
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The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides more details on California's gas price breakdown.
In addition to state taxes, the California Energy Commission estimates that environmental compliance costs added as much as $0.54/gal as of March 2025... California also mandates a special blend of gasoline designed to reduce pollution and improve air quality. This fuel burns cleaner but is more expensive to produce because it requires more processing steps and expensive blending components.
California also is somewhat isolated in terms of pipelines and needs to refine its oil in-state because of the stupid blend requirements. Newsom personally signed legislation in 2024 that, according to the Institute for Energy Research, required refiners "to build and maintain government-dictated inventories of product and has resulted in the announced closure of a large refinery in Los Angeles," the Institute for Energy Research reported.
So California Democrats constantly come up with new ways to jack up gas prices and exacerbate the fuel crisis. And Newsom is a major player in that phenomenon.
