Bob Sheak, August 29, 2026

Trump is among the beneficiaries of the current troubled economy, as his stock portfolio goes up by millions. Some American corporations and CEO’s are making windfall profits.

At the same time, Americans generally are experiencing an affordability crisis. The Iran War contributes to the high prices, especially gas prices. All the while, the national debt grows to unprecedented and unsustainable levels.

Amid this economic turmoil, Trump is unable to make headway on opening the Strait of Hormuz and the high prices that stem from it. At the same time, he is spending time and money (some of it government money) on his vanity projects (e.g., the ballroom). He has also, stunningly, started a trade war with Canada that will contribute to high prices and scarcities.

Trump’s windfall

Trump’s stock portfolio increased by $15.5 million and Democratic committee claims rise is buttressed by the effects of the Iran war

Nicole Dauphinee provides some documentation, Yahoo, Aug 24, 2026

(https://wwwyahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trumps-stock-portfolio-increased-15-151715412.html).

A U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee report from the Democratic minority was released Monday alleging that President Donald Trump profited from “sky-high oil and gas profits and stock prices” tied to the Iran War. 

“The report includes Trump’s annual financial disclosure from the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which shows that his stock value from investments in oil and gas companies increased by $15.5 million at the end of 2025. The disclosure shows his portfolio increased from $45.6 million to $61.1 million.” 

Dauphinee continues. “President Trump continues to get richer from an illegal war that he started and refuses to resolve, while Americans pay the price for his actions,” U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Democratic Minority Committee, said. ‘On the campaign trail, Trump promised giveaways for Big Oil and relief for working families, but he can’t deliver both. Since launching his war with Iran, Trump has made clear that he puts his own financial interests—and those of his biggest bankrollers—ahead of Americans who are burdened with higher costs for gas and everyday essentials under this administration.’”

“The minority report cites an analysis by Fortune magazine,” Dauphinee points out, “linking the Iran War, U.S. oil profits, and stocks ‘soaring.’ It alleges that ‘during the campaign, President Trump promised to deliver for Big Oil if they gave him $1 billion in donations.’” 

Dauphinee adds, “While the report does not corroborate this claim, congressional inquiry documents and multiple mainstream media outlets report that Donald Trump solicited a $1 billion fundraising target from oil and gas executives at a Mar-a-Lago “energy round table” on April 11, 2024.” 

The committee also reported that American families have spent an extra $71.5 billion on gas since the start of the Iran war, averaging $604 in additional costs per family.

Read the full report from the Joint Economic Committee Minority here.

Staggering cost of Trump’s tacky vanity projects revealed

Leigh Kimmins reports on this (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/staggering-cost-of-trumps-tacky-vanity-projects-revealed).

“The total cost of the president’s various vanity projects across the capital, combining private donations and public funds,” she continues, “is on track to exceed $1 billion, according to Financial Times estimates. The new East Wing ballroom and its security costs alone account for nearly $800 million of that figure.

“A 250-foot Triumphal Arch is planned for the stretch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery. A National Garden of American Heroes would feature 250 statues of historical figures ranging from Thomas Jefferson to game show host Alex Trebek. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has been recoated ‘American flag blue.’ The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is to be painted white to match the White House next door. And a public golf course is being converted into a championship-level complex for the president’s preferred pastime.”

“Will Scharf, the White House staff secretary and the man responsible for all paperwork that reaches Trump’s desk, told the Financial Times that Trump is ‘intensely involved’ in the plans. Scharf, who was named chair of the National Capital Planning Commission—the federal design and construction review panel that has approved the East Wing project and assessed the Triumphal Arch—said he has had ‘long conversations’ with Trump on flights and on the road discussing ‘the virtues of Corinthian versus Ionic columns.’”

“The ballroom, Scharf said, is something Trump considers part of his ‘legacy’ to the country.”

Big Oil Is Obtaining Windfall Profits as Trump’s War on Iran Drives Up Prices

Derek Seidman writes on his issue for Truthout, Aug 25, 2026

(https://truthout.org/articles/big-oil-is-seeing-windfall-profits-as-trumps-war-on-iran-drives-up-prices). Seidman is a regular contributor for Truthout. Here are excerpts from the article.

“While the U.S. war on Iran is broadly unpopular in the U.S, including among a growing number of Donald Trump voters, at least one of the president’s core constituencies is happy: Big Oil.

“The war’s straining of the global oil supply chain has delivered windfall profits to major fossil fuel corporations. The top two U.S. oil companies, ExxonMobil and Chevron, recently disclosed an astounding $26.5 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2026. Top independent U.S. oil refiners like Marathon, Valero, and Phillips 66 are seeing similar explosions in profits. Globally, a Guardian study found that eight of the world’s top oil companies took in more than $90 billion, or “more than $700,000 of profit every minute over the spring quarter.”

“The word “oil company” might evoke generic imagery of rigs and refineries. But behind these entities are executives, board members, and top investors who are primary beneficiaries of Big Oil’s war profiteering and who hold commanding power within a fossil fuel power structure that stretches well beyond oil company boardrooms and into Wall Street and the corporate establishment more widely.”

Seidman continues.

Big Oil’s War Profits

“ExxonMobil and Chevron are the two largest U.S. oil corporations, together worth around $1 trillion. They are massive integrated fossil fuel companies whose operations span the entire chain of oil and gas production, and who have a presence across virtually the entire world.

“In July, the two oil juggernauts together reported $26.5 billion in net income during the second quarter of 2026 — April through June of this year — as “they cashed in on surging crude and petrol prices caused by Donald Trump’s Iran war,” wrote the Financial Times.

“Comparisons with last year provide a metric for measuring these enormous returns. In 2025, ExxonMobil reported second-quarter total earnings of $7.08 billion. In 2026, by comparison, that number leapt to $14.53 billion — more than a 105 percent increase, and “its best quarterly profit since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine caused a surge in oil prices,” according to the Financial Times.

“In 2025, Chevron reported second-quarter earnings of $2.49 billion. In 2026, that number skyrocketed nearly four times — 384.7 percent — to $12.07 billion, which is Chevron’s largest quarterly haul ever.

Seidman continues. “These numbers mean one thing: huge profits funneled to a tiny stratum at the expense of the many who face rising energy prices and the destruction of war. As the nonprofit Oil Change International put it, “there is a massive transfer of wealth occurring as billions around the world struggle with high energy prices while an elite few reap the windfall.”

The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has majorly disrupted global oil and gas supply chains through attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure throughout the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the passthrough for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

Corporate giants with global operations like ExxonMobil and Chevron are in a position to continue supplying higher-priced oil. “Both companies have boosted production to near-record levels and are running refineries close to maximum capacity to supply petrol, diesel and other products to customers affected by the Middle East conflict,” said the Financial Times.

Trump’s policies add to the national debt, despite an earlier promise not to do so

Steve Benen writes that Trump’s policies have contributed to the increase in the national debt, Aug 20, 2026 (https://finance-yahoo.comeconomy/policy/articles/u-national-debt-reaches-40-130421237.html).

“Around this time eight years ago, Donald Trump appeared on Sean Hannity’s radio show and reflected on the nation’s fiscal health. “We have $21 trillion in debt … a number that is unthinkable,” the president said in July 2018. “But that will go down very quickly.”

He was wrong – and misled the public.

Benen continues.

“Last week, Americans learned that this year’s budget deficit had reached nearly $1.8 trillion, which is already higher than all of last year’s deficit, and that’s with two months still remaining in the fiscal year. This week, the public received some related news: The United States’ national debt, which Trump considered ‘unthinkable’ when it reached $21 trillion, has now crossed the $40 trillion threshold.”

“The problem is getting worse faster than anyone expected: Everyone knew this was likely to happen eventually, but as The Washington Post reported this week, we’re racking up debt faster than earlier independent analyses, thanks almost entirely to the cost of GOP tax breaks, the war in Iran and the White House’s failed tariffs agenda. The article added, ‘The faster accumulation of debt comes at a perilous moment. An array of concerns, including inflation, the war in Iran and rising debt levels around the world, are driving investors to dump government bonds.”

Trump promised voters a very different outcome: As a candidate in 2016, the Republican told voters he had unique expertise in budgetary issues, which would enable him to eliminate the deficit and start paying off the debt. Trump delivered the opposite results, adding nearly $7.8 trillion to the national debt in just one term, and most of that total was racked up before the Covid-19 crisis. As a candidate in 2024, he repeated his earlier promises, before again delivering the opposite results: Trump has added nearly $4 trillion in debt since returning to the White House a year and a half ago.”

Republican administrations add to the debt

Dean Baker considers this topic (https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/24/the-40-trillion-debt-oh-my). Here’s some of what he writes.

“I have never been a deficit hawk, and I’m not about to change my religious affiliation now. But whatever we think of debt and deficits, there is one point that should be very clear: it has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts and their inept management of the economy.

“Every Democratic president of the last half century has left with a deficit that was lower, measured as a share of GDP, than the one they came in with, except Obama, who left it unchanged. By contrast, every Republican president has left with a considerably higher deficit than what they inherited.”

The negative domestic effects of the Iran War

Suddep Reddy considers these effects (https://google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMcgzQhWBlhJJRMPjgVKgKxCxbrnsfg).

“As his war with Iran hits its six-month mark, the conflict is upending his

presidency. Rising gas prices are squeezing consumers and fueling anxiety across party lines. Inflation is rattling bond markets and raising borrowing costs. Supply chain snarls and military equipment shortages risk creating further instability around the world.

“The president who repeatedly pledged to avoid his predecessors’ missteps overseas is now seeing his own agenda derailed by an unpopular war.” 

Trump’s approval ratings move down

Emily R. Condon reports that the Iran war is unpopular as Trump battles low approval ratings (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/iran-are-is-unpopular-as-trump-battles-low-approval-ratings-recent-polls/ar-AA2aUrgM).

She considers five polls released in August that indicate that “Americans express pessimism about the Iran war and continued economic worries, according to a USA TODAY review of five polls released in August.” 

Trump’s low approval ratings

“The August polls released by Marquette Law School (Aug. 5 and 6), Economist/YouGov (Aug. 11), Reuters/Ipsos (Aug. 17 and Aug. 24) and Emerson College (Aug. 20) were conducted across the country with different groups of likely voters or American adults, but they all told a similar story.” 

“The president’s approval rating remained a net negative and sat in the low to high 30-percentage-point range in most polling. The Marquette Law School poll saw a slight jump from June’s 38% approval rating to an August-reported 40% of Americans approving of Trump. 

“Economist/YouGov and Reuters/Ipsos reported 33% approval ratings, which fell two or three points from more recent polls. Emerson’s poll reported a slightly higher rate, with 39.5% of Americans approving of Trump while 55.8% disapproved.” 

Condon continues.

The Iran war is unpopular among Americans 

“Support for U.S. military action against Iran is at a new low, with support falling among Republicans as well, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.  

“The poll released on Aug. 24 reported that only 31% of Americans approve of the operation, which is down from 37% in March and even earlier in August, when 34% of Americans approved. According to a Reuters analysis of the polling results, the decline is driven by more Republicans turning against the war.” 

Economic concerns

“Across multiple polls, American adults and voters said that economic factors are their top concern. 

“Emerson respondents cited economic factors such as inflation, jobs and taxes as an important issue in the United States, with 36.5% ranking it as the top issue. Those polled by Reuters/Ipsos cited rising gas prices as a concern amid the Iran conflict. 

“In Marquette’s poll, 35% of Americans said inflation and the cost of living was their top issue…

“Economic concerns are historically a driving factor for voters, and could explain why Democrats are leading in polls while the president’s approval rating remains low.”

Concluding thoughts

One thing that stands out in Trump’s policies is the inequality they engender.

Trump and many large corporations and CEOs are doing very well, while millions of Americans are not able or only barely able to get by financially. At the same time, though not considered in this post, the Trump administration is making it harder for people to access important social programs like Head Start and Snap, and wages have fallen behind the continued rise in inflationary prices. Generally, housing, food, gas prices, and health care continue at inflationary levels. And Trump wallows in vanity projects and profits from his power. Amid all of this mess, he has started a trade war with Canada that will surely have a further effect on sending price yet higher.

Trump deserves the low approval ratings and the negative repercussions for the Republican Party. Unless Trump is successful in rigging the upcoming elections, his days of undemocratic power are nearing an end.