Donald Trump took Chevron Corp. and ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. to task for their surging profits on Monday, with crude prices elevated because of the Iran conflict he began in February together with Israel.
Trump said the largest American oil companies are "making too much money," pushing them to "give some of that back to the public" by cutting retail gasoline prices. At the White House, he told reporters that he was not happy about it.
"I don't like it. I should be the last one to say because I'm a big free enterprise guy, nobody bigger," Trump said. "You surprised I'm saying it? I'll say it loud and clear. I'm not happy about it."
He also had a direct warning for the companies. "They're going to give some of that back to the public, and they better cut the retail price," Trump said.
Exxon and Chevron together earned $29 billion in the second quarter of 2026, about $318 million per day, more than three times what the pair made a year earlier.
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The jump reflects a combination of elevated crude prices and strong refining profits. The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices up, while fuel sales at their refineries, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, also contributed. Adjusted industry earnings for Q2 2026 are tracking toward the third-best quarter on record, and Gulf Coast fuel-making margins are close to record highs.
During Monday's afternoon trading, Chevron shares lost about 2 percent as crude prices slipped, while ExxonMobil's stock fell 0.6 percent.
Earlier Monday, Trump criticized Chevron CEO Mike Wirth for not crediting the administration's pro-fossil fuel policies during a Fox Business Network appearance.
Wirth said on Fox that the company's second-quarter results were helped partly by record US crude output and refinery throughput.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: "The only thing he conveniently forgot to mention is that, without the genius foresight, strength, and stability, of the TRUMP Administration, the Oil Industry, and our Country itself, would be DEAD!"
Wirth did tell Fox that the Trump administration had been "very helpful" in supporting oil supplies. "The policy actions that have been taken are the right ones," he said.
Trump told the Justice Department in June to examine why pump prices had not dropped, hinting at possible price gouging. Exxon and Chevron, along with industry groups, have rejected the accusation, saying their market share is too small to set prices.
Households already strained by expensive housing, food and other consumer goods now face an average price above $4 for a gallon of regular gasoline, roughly 30% more than at the start of Trump's presidency.
Trump's management of the economy and the war is earning him increasingly poor reviews from voters, threatening Republican chances in the November midterms.
Trump's criticism of Big Oil echoes the approach of Joe Biden, who repeatedly attacked energy companies for the gas-price jump after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and once said ExxonMobil "made more money than God."
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