A Fuel and His Money are Soon Parted
The other day, I noted how Trump's announcements have gotten so horrible, pushed it seems by his growing dementia which is degenerative, that just stating the headline alone describes how awful the story is without any explanation necessary. In the article, I gave several examples from just that day. And then the very next day, there was yet another.
I wasn't exaggerating. I really meant it. And on Friday, Trump's dementia and fear kicked in further, there was one more to add to the list. The headline read --
"Trump announces a deal with Russia for 300,00 tons of diesel fuel."
In a perfect world, I could make my life much easier and just stop typing right there. Nothing more is needed. I could leave my desk and catch up on my list of streaming series I haven't had a chance to watch yet that built up during the baseball season. But life isn't perfect. Because this story is even so much worse then just the demented Trump headline. And so it cries out for adding a bit more.
To start with, it helps to translate "tons of fuel" to "barrels" since that's how it generally gets reported and how people tend to assimilate the number. And so, what Trump agreed to is --
Russia will supply 73,000 barrels of diesel fuel to the U.S. and global marketplace immediately, followed in November by another 124,000 barrels, and then 72,000 barrels "soon after". At that point, depending on the status of Russia's diesel refineries, Russia will deliver, "within a short period of time" (Trump's words, an amorphous phrase -- as is "soon after"), an additional 730,000 barrels of diesel fuel.
That sure sounds like a lot! Especially if Russia can make that final delivery. If. But still, even without it, that's 269,000 barrels of diesel fuel to the world over the next four months. Yowza!
And now -- the perspective:
The United States, all by itself, will burn 4.1 billion barrels of diesel fuel. But no, that's isn't during this four-month period. That's just in a single day! Every day. In the U.S., alone.
The global marketplace? It burns 30 billion barrels of diesel. Each day. Day after day after day.
Get out your abacus. Over the next four months, the world will use 3,600,000,000,000 barrels of diesel fuel. For those dizzy from counting zeroes, that's 3.6 quadrillion barrels.
Trump's four-month deal with Russia is for 269,000 barrels of diesel.
But let's say Russia is able to manage the additional amount "within a short period of time" (if ), that will be another 730,000 barrels. Great! Okay, for fun, let's say this "short period" is merely two months. During that "short period of time," the world will have burned another 1.8 quadrillion barrels.
For those not great at math, all this is what's considered a negative loss.
Moreover, there's no guarantee that Russia will be able to turn out this capacity in the timeframe under the deal. Which would make it like oh-so-many "announcement" by Trump.
(NOTE: See "Trump promises Big Beautiful Healthcare plan is just two weeks for the fourth time in 10 years.")
Nor, it's highly worth noting -- indeed, some with sharp eyes may have spotted -- has there been any mention by Trump how much money his "deal" will actually cost to pay for that billion barrels of diesel fuel. It does not seem likely that Russia will be selling it for under market price. ("But for you, $349.95 a barrel.") It also does not seem likely that such a paltry amount of diesel (and "paltry" is such a paltry word for describing how paltry this amount of diesel in the "deal" is) will affect the price at the pump much at all.
And by the way, we haven't really even gotten to why this story is so horrible! Remember, this is just the "To start with" part.
The good news is that the "why the story is so horrible" part is easy deal with. The bad news is that it's so horrible.
And we'll begin the horrible part by pointing out that when speaking to reporters after making his announcement, Trump thanked Vladimir Putin (of course) for the diesel fuel and said “We’re very happy to get it.” (There is no video available of Putin doing his happy dance.)
Then we'll note that the sole reason the U.S. and world actually need the fuel is because of Trump's disastrous war of choice in Iran.
And note, as well, that Russia has been assisting Iran with satellite intelligence for targeting American facilities, ships, munitions and military, causing $3.7 billion in “equipment losses” alone, the Pentagon reports.
And note that in 2022, due to Russia's attack on Ukraine, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to ban Russian oil imports. And banned any country trading with Russia. And it is a law that is still in effect, even after Trump’s announcement of a "deal."
And that earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order threatening tariff sanctions of at least 25% on any nation that trades with or buys goods and services from Iran. As the Christian Science Monitor writes, "Russia-Iran ties have now evolved into a full-spectrum partnership, analysts say. Areas of cooperation range from AI and cybersecurity to elaborate networks." Russia reports a 21% increase of trade with Iran, and is finalizing a planned $20 billion financial arrangement with the country.
And, yes, Trump temporarily removed sanctions against Russia for selling crude oil and now diesel.
And this deal (once Trump announces the pesky details) will bring a massive influx of money to Russia, which will help them continue financing their war against Ukraine.
And further, remember that "we use 4.1 billion barrels of diesel fuel a day" number? Well, we produce 5.1 billion barrels of diesel a day! Meaning the U.S. is a net diesel producer and don't actually need diesel fuel.
And, to state the very obvious, although Trump seems to have missed it, that Russia is one of the two leading adversaries of the United States. And Putin has a 10% approval in the U.S.
Which leads us, finally, to what is possibly actual good news about this deal.
Trump highly-touting his announcement will raise expectations with the voting public that diesel prices will plummet, but when it turns out costs are not affected much in the slightest -- and none at all before the Mid-Terms -- people may take their anger out at the polls.
And many Americans will hate Trump even attempting to make a "deal" with our enemy Russia and his 10%-approved inamorato Putin that helps them continue their war against Ukraine, all the while they help Iran fight against America.
And it seems that even many MAGOPs in Congress in Congress hate this "deal" and are pushing back, to the degree that it might not even get approved.
Already, at least two MAGOPs running for the Senate (Mike Rogers in Michigan and Dan Sullivan in Alaska) have spoken out against the "deal." And MAGOPs are already joining House Democrats to actually block Trump's diesel deal. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (MAGOP-PA), co-chair of the House Ukraine Caucus, said on social media, "We will be introducing bipartisan legislation to block any and all purchases of Russian oil." All this despite their party leader Trump calling his diesel announcement “very big and important”. And on his reclamation book tour, Sen. Thom Tillis (MAGOP-NC) said that the "deal" might even be illegal, because of the aforementioned Senate bill.
Furthermore, MAGOP Rep. Don Bacon (who is not running for re-election) called this "a grave error by the president. People realize that the sanctions on Russia are appropriate when Russia’s invading a country and bombing cities at night.” And then he added what is most problematic for Trump about this whole thing. Something that I suspect most Americans have spotted, as well --
“It looks desperate."
Because it is desperate.
And worse for Trump, looking desperate is far from the worst, truly horrible things about his diesel "deal." It's just a small part of a long list.
A list that will continue to grow in other areas, as well, as we've already repeatedly seen, because Trump has dementia, which is degenerative.
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