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Mr. Trump's diesel deal with Putin will force Americans to fund both sides of the Iran war and finance the ongoing slaughter of Ukrainian civilians by Russia. It is blood money that will fund Putin’s war economy. Russia in turn will continue to support Iran with intel and weaponry that will be used against U.S. military personnel and assets and our allies in the region. It's not just (another) massive strategic blunder; It is morally repugnant.
Blaming Ukraine for high diesel prices is a talking point straight from the Kremlin. It brings to mind the old Soviet joke "The past is rewritten so fast that you don't know what will happen yesterday." Trump wants us to forget Russia started the war, not Ukraine, and that the war was ongoing in October of 2025 when home heating oil prices in Western New York averaged $3.72 per gallon (Source: NYSERDA) and on-highway diesel prices averaged $3.88/gallon (Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, EIA). Mr. Trump wants us to believe his unforced error of a war in Iran has nothing to do with home heating oil prices in Western New York averaging $6.44/gallon and on-highway diesel prices averaging $6.48/gallon as of October 6, 2026, an increase of 67% over last year at this time.
The next phase of gaslighting will be to try to flip the script and somehow make high fuel prices the Democrats fault. This will be tricky as both parties agreed to stiffer US sanctions and tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and gas. Trump signed these new sanctions into law just weeks ago. What to do? A diesel deal with Putin. Who cares if the deal may be illegal? If Democrats try to block the deal claim they're trying to keep fuel prices high.
This level of gaslighting requires teamwork and players you can count on to stick to the talking points. When gasoline and other fuel prices spiked immediately after the start of the Iran war our Congressman Nick Langworthy blamed it on fuel companies who "ran to jack the price up", betting markets "playing games" and OPEC countries. (Source: Nick Langworthy March 2026 telephone town hall) When gasoline prices hit a statewide average of $4.02 in March of 2022, Nick, who was NYS GOP Chair at the time, said; "Americans are paying the highest prices ever for gas and it is a crisis of the Democrat Party's own making". (Source: nygop.org March 8, 2022)
Congressman Langworthy has said relatively little about current fuel prices or prices in general. In his October 6th debate with Aaron Gies on WETM18 News, Langworthy indicated continued support for the war in Iran and for the tariffs/trade war with allies such as Canada. He said tax cuts helped offset higher prices and claimed tax refund checks went up "11% year over year", somehow ignoring the fact that inflation due to tariffs and fuel costs more than cancels that out.
The 2022 version of Nick Langworthy made energy prices and inflation a key issue in his campaign. In September of 2022 National Grid forecast customers could pay up to 39% more than in the prior year for natural gas. Nick Langworthy said; “That is a staggering increase that is simply unaffordable for many, many people across Western New York and the Southern Tier,” and “If voters give me the privilege of serving in Congress, I will make lowering our energy costs in this district one of my absolute top priorities." (Source: Spectrum News 1, Nick Langworthy criticizes Biden administration over energy prices, inflation, September 13, 2022.)
Apparently even a few years in Washington D.C. can negatively impact memory and math skills. What would the 2022 Nick Langworthy say about 2026 levels of fuel prices and inflation? It's as if the answer depends on who is President at the time, not on how working people are impacted. While it's clear Nick is a dedicated team player, he seems confused about which team he's supposed to be playing for.
Andrea Hatfield is a Jamestown resident.