Hours away from Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida on Oct. 9, 2024, online users shared a rumor claiming former U.S. President Donald Trump offered a new product called "Trump Gas" for at least $49.99 per gallon to people fleeing the storm's path. We also received reader mail about the subject, with one person asking, "Is Trump selling gas to people for $49 a gallon?"
In further examples, numerous users on X posted their thoughts about the rumor and specifically linked to an article (archived) hosted by the news mobile app SmartNews. The story's headline read, "Trump Offers 'Trump Gas' to Floridians Trying to Escape Hurricane Milton."
One user posted, "Nothing like monetizing a disaster. Sickening. Price gouging masked." Another person said, "Personally, I call this price gouging [for] $50+ for a gallon of gas during a hurricane." A different user shared, "What a f***ing rip off. Talk about price gouging, that is more then [sic] likely a 1,000% inflation rate, and he wants to Make America Great Again." Others said they couldn't verify the purported news and that the matter indicated Trump had no morals.
SmartNews credited the publishing of the article to WhoWhatWhy.org — a website describing itself as "a global nonprofit news organization committed to reporting without corporate pressure, political agenda or a pack mentality." (The SmartNews-hosted version of the syndicated story became unavailable following the initial publication of this fact check.)
However, a reading of the "Trump Gas" story revealed the article's author labeled the text as containing satire. In other words, the rumor was not true.
The 'Satire' Disclaimer
A preface before the Oct. 9 WhoWhatWhy.org article (archived) read:
Would anybody be surprised if Donald Trump tried to sell gasoline at inflated prices to Florida residents trying to escape Hurricane Milton? Not us!
We are four weeks away from wrapping up one of the craziest election cycles in recent memory… well, at least the pre-litigation portion of it. In large part, this is owed to the fact that Donald Trump is a patently ridiculous figure and has turned the GOP into a weird cult, which he has sought to capitalize on in ludicrous ways. Therefore, we sometimes use satire to illustrate the absurdity of it all. This is one of those times.
SmartNews encourages readers to use the company's mobile app instead of a desktop web browser, and truncates articles if loaded outside of the mobile version. The preface mentioning the word "satire" was not visible in the truncated version.
The Article Published by WhoWhatWhy.org
Following the preface, the full article began with an untrue story of Trump posting about "Trump Gas" on his Truth Social platform:
Donald Trump on Wednesday morning announced on his Truth Social website that he is offering a special deal to the tens of thousands of Floridians who are desperate to escape the path of Hurricane Milton but may be stranded because gas stations in the Tampa area are running out of fuel.
"MAGA motorists, I have a golden opportunity for you," announced Trump in a video posted to his social media website. "Today only, I am offering you 'Trump Gas' starting at just $49.99 per gallon. It's the most beautiful gas around."
This is not the first product or bauble that Trump is hawking. In recent weeks, he has already tried to convince his followers, who are fueling the billionaire's presidential campaign with their small-money donations, to purchase anything from gaudy watches and special silver coins to "God Bless the USA" Bibles made in China.
The satire-labeled story continued by detailing three purported versions of "Trump Gas," including a regular version for $49.99 per gallon, a "Drill, Baby, Drill" edition that comes in a commemorative can with Trump's face on it for $199.99 and a "Gold Star" version containing a bead of sweat from a Trump rally for $899.99.
The article's mentions of the former president endorsing sales of $100,000 watches, silver coins and special Bibles (and Trump's "Never Surrender High-Tops" sneakers) were all true.
The story closed with several other satirical bits, for example the idea that each customer would be limited to one gallon per order, with proof of citizenship required to purchase.
AP Reports Trump's Bibles Were Made in China
The fictional story about "Trump Gas" spread on Oct. 9 in the hours after The Associated Press exclusively reported, "Thousands of copies of Donald Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices — China."
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call some or all of their output humorous or satirical.