Trump calls US strikes on Iran a ‘love tap’ after destroyers targeted in Strait of Hormuz

Fox News ^ | 8 May 2026 | Greg Norman-Diamond, Emma Bussey and Jennifer Griffin

[Alas Babylon!]

President Donald Trump said Thursday that retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets were “just a love tap." The strikes came as U.S. Central Command said Iranian forces “launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats” while the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta and USS Mason were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

[DesertRhino]

Getting it back just in time for election day is meaningless. Trump and the Israelis have stolen hundreds of dollars a month from average consumers, mocked us when we complain, and he’s still covering for his Epstein friends and relations.
He has flipped the finger to every promise he made in the campaign.

The midterms are already lost because of his dishonesty.

[DesertRhino]

“MOAB the Iranian Coast. Leave it a pile of rubble. Turn Kharg Island into burning scrap metal.”

That sounds great for the world and America economy. Any other bright ideas?

[Alas Babylon!]

He has manipulated and insider traded oil prices and futures 6 or 7 times in this war.

What a crock of shite!

No proof, just your TDS? Show us a source for this outrageous claim.

If it was true, the driveby media and democrat communists would be screeching from the the rooftops.

[rlmorel]

I just read more of this thread. It confirms my points at post #18.

We can and should have different opinions on the hows and whys of what led up to these operations in the Persian Gulf and how it is being handled.

But characterizing characterizing current events as destroying the chances to retain or grow GOP power and control in mid-term elections, even saying outright that all is lost, is completely asinine.

Do any of these people even acknowledge what happened in Indiana the other day?

And the win in the Supreme Court decision on racially based redistricting with various states redrawing their maps, more to come, and Virginia facing the very real (more probable than not) possibility that their efforts at politically based gerrymandering in that state will not withstand procedural challenges by Republicans?

And they ignore or discount these things while personally attacking President Trump by characterizing his actions as "being just a game to him" or that implying or openly stating that Israel is leading President Trump around by the nose, and "It's all about the Joooooooooooos!"

It is both asinine and defeatist.

Like I said: Thomas Paine saw those people correctly 250 years ago in the form of "Summer Soldiers" and "Sunshine Patriots" except today, they would cut and run at the sight of a gas pump price being raised instead of the advance of a real enemy.

Some things never change, even if the situations and tactics often do.

[Sam Gamgee]

I’m on pins and needles wondering how next week will look in the oil markets. It seems to me Trump wants this war ended badly even at the expense of losing control over the strait. If Iran is able to take over with their shake down scheme, I wonder what the war was all about?

[rlmorel]

Here is a graph of national gasoline average prices since 1978 to today. The data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

In June 2022 the average price was $5.15 per gallon. And it was not caused by a war to stop a bunch of madmen who had violated our sovereignty and international norms by seizing our embassy and taking hostages for 444 days, then chanting "DEATH TO AMERICA" for the next 47 years.. .

It was caused by Leftists in power pushing their "Green New Deal" crap and intentionally driving up the price of gas to accomplish that. Then we had the midterms in 2022, and the price of gas came down. only dropping in the months before the midterm results because Biden drained the SPR taking out more than 180 million barrels from the SPR for POLITICAL purposes ONLY, not in support of a military mission or anything else. Republicans took control of the House, and helped prevent a further drainage of the SPR by the Left.

[VAFreedom]

in this case when can the raping start? i’d like to watch

[cowboyusa]

Just go to du already

[cowboyusa]

It will take about a week for the lower prices to kick in the y rise fast and fall slow.

[Lurker]

You’re certainly a whiny little beyotch, ain’t you.

L

[henbane]

Foundation for Defense of Democracies senior fellow Miad Maleki told Fox News earlier this week that Iran only has 13 days worth of traditional oil storage, but has been buying more time using empty oil tankers for storage.
“They have a few days of the onshore storage capacity left, and then another 30 to 45 days of tankers to fill up,” Maleki said.

Since these empty tankers are frozen at anchor in the Strait, the crazy Islamist Iranians will dump the oil into the Persian Gulf and try to blame President Trump for the pollution horror.

The U.S. Navy should move some empty American tankers into the scene and demand that they be filled with the excess oil. Any sale of the oil will go to the American Treasury and pay down a bit of this Iranian intransigence.

[Alas Babylon!]

Okay, but don’t assume because they can fill tankers for two more months that the only road they’ll go down.

That’s true IF they think they can hold out that long and not get paid.

China might not want them too, especially if in the end, they’ll still have to make a deal.

[Alas Babylon!]

Also, Three weeks ago the price per barrel was sitting in the 100-teens, but the highest price in my town was $3.99 a gallon. Then the barrel price went down into the upper 80s and the gas price went back down to $3.80 here. Then this week, jumped up to $4.19. Even though, right now, WTI is $95 and Brent is 101.

I asked my AI why this was so.

The reply:

The key point:
Gasoline prices follow refined gasoline markets, not crude oil directly.
And right now, refined gasoline is tight even though crude is cheaper.

This is why your local price can go higher even when Brent/WTI go lower.

🔥 1. Refineries are the bottleneck right now — not crude oil
This is the big one.

Even if crude drops, gasoline can rise if:

refineries are down for maintenance

refineries are running at reduced capacity

refinery margins (“crack spreads”) are high

regional supply is tight

Right now, U.S. refineries are in spring maintenance season, which always reduces output.
Less gasoline supply → higher gasoline prices, even if crude is cheaper.

This is why the Marathon on the hill can jump to $4.19 even though Brent is ~$101 and WTI ~$95.

🛢️ 2. Gasoline futures (RBOB) have been rising even while crude fell
This is the part most people never see.

RBOB gasoline futures — the benchmark for U.S. gasoline — have been rising due to:

summer-blend transition

refinery outages

tight inventories

higher demand as weather warms

So even though crude is down from its earlier highs, gasoline futures are up, and stations price off gasoline, not crude.

🌡️ 3. Summer-blend gasoline costs more to make
Every year, around April–May, refineries switch to:

summer-blend gasoline

lower vapor pressure

more additives

more expensive components

This adds 15–30 cents per gallon to wholesale prices even if crude stays flat.

Your timing matches this perfectly.

🚚 4. Regional supply matters more than national averages in your town in Alabama is supplied by:

the Colonial Pipeline

regional terminals (Montgomery, Opelika, etc.)

local wholesale rack prices

If your region has:

a tight supply

higher wholesale rack prices

fewer deliveries

higher demand

…your local price can spike even if national crude prices fall.

This is why your Marathon — already a high‑priced station — jumped to $4.19.

🏦 5. Stations raise prices faster than they lower them
This is called rockets and feathers:

Prices go up like a rocket

Prices fall like a feather

When wholesale gasoline rises even a little, stations raise prices immediately.
When wholesale falls, they take their time lowering it.

🧭 Putting it all together for your situation
A few weeks ago:

Brent/WTI were higher

Gas was $3.99

Now:

Brent/WTI are lower

But gasoline futures are higher

Summer blend is in effect

Refinery output is tight

Regional supply is tight

Stations are padding margins

→ Gas is $4.19 even though crude is cheaper.

This is exactly what the market does every spring.

[JessieHelmsJr]

He needs to hit every dam, bridge, power plant,and every religious nut over there.

[henbane]

Very detailed and explanatory commentary by AI--goes a long way in explaining the price difference between crude oil and refined gasoline.

The price at the pump is always the one that creates the impact. Some commentator said the price of gasoline is like the price of gold--marked to market. The gas station buys it at a current price--but can change its sign price "Up" when the market goes up--but it's extremely rare to see the sign price come down due to the daily market coming down. The gas station's in-ground tanks are holding the higher-priced gas they earlier paid for.

Very confusing--but it all comes down to swiping your credit card and seeing the total price printed on that little white receipt.

This is when the car/truck owner registers increasing anger as that total bites deeper into his bottom line.

[libertylover]

We’ll see.