Mystery surrounds ‘Freedom Fuel’ gas stations touted by Trump

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In recent days, President Trump has touted 25 “Freedom Fuel” gas stations, but little is publicly known about the stations or who is running them.

The gas stations, located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, are selling fuel at relatively low prices, and Trump’s admiration comes as he’s trying to pressure other gas retailers to cut their prices as well.

A White House official has described the Freedom Fuel Network as a private company and said that the administration is not involved with it. It also is not receiving federal funding, and there is no other entity or person subsidizing the cost, per the White House.

The Freedom Fuel Network’s website touts 25 locations but does not contain much other information.

The Hill attempted to reach the network through its website but did not immediately receive a response.

State records indicate that a Freedom Fuel Network LLC was incorporated in Delaware on June 23, but they also didn’t provide much other information.

While the White House official emphasized the administration is not involved with the effort, President Trump did tout the initiative last week, and officials have subsequently promoted the effort.

Trump in a July 1 social media post wrote that “the Freedom Fuel Network will be lowering gas prices at 25 ‘FREEDOM FUEL’ Stations across the Greater Philadelphia Area. This Retailer is taking the lead, and others should follow.”

Nearly a week later, the White House said in a social media post that “the FIRST Freedom Fuel Network gas station has LANDED in Philadelphia, lowering the price at the pump to $3.47 for our 47th President.”

“Freedom Fuel is a patriotic company doing a good thing for drivers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey by lowering their gas prices,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Hill.

“They are doing their part to answer the President’s call to lower prices at the pump. This retailer is taking the lead, and we hope to see others follow,” Rogers added.

The “Freedom Fuel” price is significantly lower than the average gasoline prices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which were $4 and $3.92 per gallon, respectively, on Friday, according to AAA.

However, data from price tracker GasBuddy indicates that prices at these stations have gone up to at least $3.57 per gallon, according to a report by Nexstar.

A White House official said prices at the stations will fluctuate depending on market conditions.

CNN reported this week that a Costco near one of the stations was selling gasoline for the same price, though Costco is a major national chain that likely buys fuel in larger quantities.

At the same time, a key industry group and other experts have said the $3.47 level is too low for gas stations to be profitable.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Gulf Oil, said the prices they were selling at “do not work in today’s market.”

“Break-even prices were about $3.60,” Kloza said. “The cheapest one could sell gasoline for in the markets that they were talking about was about $3.60 a gallon. It’s not a working business plan to sell gasoline at a loss for more than like a day.”

Jeff Lenard, spokesperson for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which represents many of the nation’s gas stations, put the break-even price even higher.

He said via email that gas stations in that area are paying about $3 per gallon of gas, and then they’d have to pay about 76 cents per gallon in federal and state taxes in Pennsylvania, or about 57.5 cents in New Jersey — plus operating costs.

“Obviously everybody’s frustrated by high gas prices,” Lenard said in an interview, before adding that there are “misperceptions” about how much sway stations actually have in the price of gasoline.

The Freedom Fuel stations represent a tiny fraction of overall gas stations. According to the trade association, there are about 123,000 convenience stores that sell fuel in the country.

Lenard said Pennsylvania has 3,656 convenience stores that sell fuel while New Jersey has 1,443. He said these figures represent most, but not all, of the fuel retailers in these states.

Trump’s support for the Freedom Fuel stations comes as he seeks to pressure other stations to lower their prices.

Gasoline prices spiked along with the price of oil during the height of the war with Iran. After the since-terminated ceasefire, oil prices quickly fell back down to near prewar levels, but gasoline prices have not yet neared their prewar lows.

As of Friday, the national average gasoline price was about $3.89 per gallon, down from the wartime highs of more than $4.50 but still well above the approximately $3 average before the war.

Republicans are feeling the pressure of high gasoline prices ahead of this year’s midterm elections as the issue of “affordability” takes center stage.

Trump has pushed gas stations to lower their prices.

“Gasoline Retailers must get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY! They’re too high considering that Oil is now at $68 a Barrel, and heading south,” he wrote in a social media post last month.

“The Retailers must quickly react to this statement, and do what they know is right — DROP YOUR PRICE FOR OUR GREAT AMERICAN PEOPLE! There will be no gauging, which is totally illegal. If Retailers don’t do this, big problems lie ahead!” he added.

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