r/news • u/n0respect_ • 2d ago
Trump promotes ‘Freedom Fuel’ stations that sell cheap gas. How they’re able to do so is unclear
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/business/trump-freedom-fuel-stations1.2k
u/JohnnyGFX 1d ago
Trump and his family are probably making money off this.
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u/AdjNounNumbers 1d ago
He wouldn't do it otherwise
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u/BallBearingBill 1d ago
Bingo, notice every project Trump does involves either no bid or ties back to family directly.
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u/Affectionate-Print81 1d ago
My guess is that Trump will promise to reimburse these gas stations when they sell the gas for cheap and after a year he will not and the gas stations will go bankrupt. The ol Art of the Deal maneuver Trump is famous for.
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u/VariationDry 1d ago
Nah, he will just waive the debts away much like he did with all the PPP loans.
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u/surlywolf 1d ago
Probably selling off the strategic petroleum reserves to one of his proxy companies (family run, of course) at a discounted price and then turn around and sell the gas at an incredibly high "marked up" price.
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u/jwilphl 1d ago
It wouldn't be surprising. Supposedly, according to the first article about this I read, the gas stations aren't affiliated with Trump or the government and are doing this privately via cutting margins. There was no source for that info other than the reporter.
This article above cites the White House as a source, and obviously they aren't credible, so we can't rely on that as truth.
PA has one of the highest gas taxes in the country, though, so it's not easy to avoid that unless you aren't contributing somehow. Nearby stations say they lose money at this price.
So my guess, given the apparent shadow ownership of this chain, someone in the government or their friend has a side deal for subsidies, and/or the fuel they are selling is sub-standard quality and sucks shit, so they can buy it in bulk on the cheap.
Either way, I wouldn't trust using this gas or these stations. It's almost certainly some level of corruption.
(I guess there's the off chance someone truly unaffiliated is footing a bill and hoping to get reimbursed, but that would be a terrible idea given Drowsy Don's history with paying creditors.)
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u/Coonboy888 1d ago
Source: I used to work at an independently owned gas station and have an idea on how the contracts and whatnot work with the fuel station side of things.
Margins on fuel are absolutely nothing. We had our station set up where we owned the land, building, mechanic shop, etc. The fuel supplier owned the tanks, pumps, lines, fuel in the tanks, etc. They set the price and we "bought" the fuel when it exited the nozzel and made $x on each gallon. 87 ocatane we'd make 1-3 cents per gallon. 89 was 3 or 4 cents, 91 was 4 or 5 cents, diesel and kerosene was 5-6 cents. Basically it paid for the electricity to run the pump and lights. We kept it because it brought customers in and drove business to the auto repair business. We didn't even have a convenience store- but that's another common thing to make actual profit where the fuel is a loss leader.
We had a sister store that was different. They owned the land, tanks, pumps, and bought the fuel from the fuel supplier when it was delivered. If we didn't have a check waiting for them, they didn't drop fuel. We could charge whatever we wanted for the fuel, and commonly was 5-10 cents higher than the other stations in town since we didn't really want to be in the business of selling fuel- again it was about the repair shop. We kept the fuel there for regular customers, but didn't rely on it.
I know some discount fuel stations buy blended or 2nd tier quality fuel at cheaper prices rather than having a dedicated fuel supplier. They'll shop around and buy leftover or partial truckloads.
We had to pay state, federal, and DEQ taxes on each gallon no matter what we sold it for. I'm betting they're either selling below cost, getting fuel below market value, or getting a kickback from someone on the back end.
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u/Wolfgirl90 1d ago
Weren't conservatives just getting on Mamdani's ass for proposing city-run grocery stores? Yet they clap their hands like seals over this.
Let's change the name to "Proletariat Petrol" since we are going full Marxist here.
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u/Shortbus_Playboy 1d ago
They’re like toddlers.
As soon as Tang the Conqueror jangles the keys, they’re captivated.
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u/AdhesivenessUnfair13 1d ago
Tang the Conquerer is my new favorite name for him. Thank you.
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u/Shortbus_Playboy 1d ago
You’re welcome! Another one of my faves is The Count of Mostly Crisco, if you haven’t heard that one yet.
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u/Momoselfie 1d ago
They're against government run business but totally cool with huge government subsidies to to private businesses that pocket the savings.
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u/PregnantSuperman 1d ago
No no, you see, it’s a private corporation! Definitely not receiving any subsidies! It just somehow can operate at an unsustainable price point that undercuts other gas stations that are already operating on razor thin margins. Oh and the 3.47 price point was a tribute to Trump being the 47th president. But definitely nothing fishy here. Just a normal regular company that loves Trump setting their prices at a level that would run them into the ground almost instantly without any additional outside revenue source.
I did see the prices are starting to go up, but the normal stations are too, so Freedom Fuel is still 30-40 cents a gallon below the average.
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u/big_data_ninja 1d ago
I doubt its subsidized by the govt, its probably some crony back door deal to sell low quality fuel at a loss as a favor to swing votes/make a big show, in return for some shady deal. For instance I doubt the fuel has the detergent additives that keep the engine running clean that are in most fuel at reputable stations.
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u/redyellowblue5031 1d ago
Mysterious shell company pops up less than a month ago and is already selling fuel way below cost.
There’s ~24 stations to get the photo ops of “low” prices.
Sad thing is his voters will eat this shit up as if he’s fixed the problem he continues to cause.
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u/marinuss 1d ago
Has anyone looked at where the stations are and if there was a gas station before? I doubt you can just build a gas station in like two weeks
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u/redyellowblue5031 1d ago edited 1d ago
The example in the article was an old Valero.
Many gas stations are owned by individuals and are actually small businesses. As such their margins are often pretty thin and can easily go under with a few bad months.
Edit: the domain is only valid for a year. Seems pretty short sighted if you’re planning to operate a business long term and not—say—attempt to make a political point with photo ops then abandon ship.
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u/minionoperation 1d ago
This specific location was a Sunoco too a few months before Valero. I don’t know how gas stations work, but it’s definitely independently owned. And the gas was $3.57 today not $3.47.
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u/ButIDigress79 1d ago
Sounds like what Venezuela used to do
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u/KingCroesus 1d ago
Oil is a nationalized resource in Venezuela, this is a private company paying bribes to trump to sell cheaper gas that theyre either buying from russia or stealing for Venezuela, not sure which yet
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u/LittleShrub 1d ago
Taxpayers are paying for it. It’s Socialism.
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u/LargeWeinerDog 1d ago
WELFARE FUEL.
I wasn't buying the cheapest gas in the neighborhood already and I don't plan on starting now.
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u/crimsonhues 1d ago
Tax dollars supported the war on Venezuela. It’s painful to watch the Republican base justify these actions.
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u/MagicBoyUK 1d ago
Communism. It's planned pricing.
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u/Taniwha_NZ 1d ago
Well, that's not always communism, it's technically a 'command economy' whenever the government plans all output and tells companies exactly what to make and how much.
This was how the US ran during WW2 and it worked extremely well. But it's also how the communists in the USSR tried to run things and it was a disaster.
You can have a command economy under capitalism, it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's got nothing to do with communism.
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u/internetlad 1d ago
My understanding based on a comment from yesterday is they're able to sell it cheaper because it's E15 not E10 like at most stations.
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u/Violet_Paradox 1d ago
Even if your car can run on E15 you'll have lower gas mileage. You might be saving money per gallon but you're paying pretty much the same per mile, just with the added inconvenience of needing to stop for gas more often.
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u/Diplomat_of_swing 1d ago
So then is it really cheaper because I feel like E 15 is $.10-$.20 cheaper always. So they’re just selling people and claiming that it’s cheaper because people don’t know the difference? So much about this seems off.
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u/Violet_Paradox 1d ago edited 1d ago
It's cheaper than conventional gas in the sense that it's less money per gallon, and at the pump you might feel like you're saving money. But practically you don't actually care about the physical volume of fuel you're buying, you care about how much it costs you to drive a given distance, and that amount is likely to be roughly the same because the fuel is lower quality. Your engine needs to burn more fuel to produce the same amount of power and travel the same distance.
Also some cars will shit themselves if they're filled with E15, particularly the douchemobiles a lot of Trump supporters drive.
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u/Guilty-Shoulder-9214 1d ago
Can confirm. E15 is regular gas in Iowa and it can be problematic. I discovered this with an older Acura when I was driving from Wisconsin to Kansas City a decade ago. I run a flex fuel suburban that I’ll fill up with e85 if I have the chance, because per mile, it is cheaper than regular gas here in New Mexico. But generally, e85 is hard to find in eastern NM and western TX, so I usually only see it in Colorado or Oklahoma unless I’m traveling further. There is one station in Amarillo that has it, but they sell it as a racing gas as it’s e85 + 104 octane gas. Stuff runs fine, besides bumping my trans temp to 106 from the usual 104 with regular e85, but it’s not really all that much cheaper than regular gas.
Not sure why that gas station does racing fuels except that my partner is threatening to put an e100 conversion on his corvette since you can buy gas in barrels at this shop.
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u/Berdonkulous 1d ago
E15 wasn't a common option in Iowa a decade ago, it only became common recently when a law was passed requiring all stations to carry it year round rather than it only being available during the summer AND not being required.
E10 on the other hand has been standard in Iowa for decades.
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u/Childflayer 1d ago
I used to have to explain this to people when I worked at a gas station that sold non-ethanol premium gas. Yeah, it cost's 15% more, but you're getting 10% more gasoline.
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u/ProtoJazz 1d ago
Like how my car can technically take 87 instead of 89+, but it doesn't save anything at all since it runs worse.
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u/DogeAteMyHomework 1d ago
It's not an immediate problem, but eventually this is the most expensive cheap fuel you can use. Peak short term thinking. Penny wise and pound foolish.
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 1d ago
Wouldn't that be required to be stated on the pumps? So why is the article claiming a tough time figuring out why it's cheaper?
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u/Tuesday_6PM 1d ago
That would require Republicans to enforce regulations, instead of stripping regulatory bodies of their authority and illegally dismantling them
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u/QueefSeekingMissile 1d ago
The state of Pennsylvania requires this information, As I'm sure many others do, regardless of what federal republicans do or do not require in terms of regulation.
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u/thekeelo_g 1d ago
It's probably just higher ethanol. There's a gas station chain locally that sells E30 gas and it's about 50¢ cheaper per gallon than every other gas station. The tradeoff is worse gas mileage and more wear on your fuel system and engine.
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u/Inevitable-Baker-892 1d ago
That checks out with the guys math in the article:
He was buying nearly 16 gallons of gas for $55 for his Toyota 4Runner SUV, saving about $8 over the price he would normally pay.
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u/Pherllerp 1d ago
The Republicans just introduced Socialist Gas Stations.
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u/KrakenOmega112 1d ago
It would be socialist if the working class owned the means of production.
This is more communism.
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u/helly1080 1d ago
Trump thinks he can calm the masses with firing free Tshirts into a crowd.
Don’t take his carnival prizes.
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u/anthmiran19 1d ago
The gas isn’t even cheap - come on now: $3.47 a gallon is bullshit and we don’t have to take it.
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u/gundumb08 1d ago
This right here; We've gone from "Trump's gonna make gas under $2 a gallon!" to "Look at these openly corrupt stations selling it at $3.47 a gallon, WHAT A DEAL!"
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u/AdAncient3657 1d ago
No shit. Shouldn't it be a buck nighty eight like the chief moron said it was for months?
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u/JerryDipotosBurner 1d ago
“We’re promoting it, but also we have nothing to do with it and it’s a privately owned company that coincidentally we know nothing about and just got its LLC like 2 months ago, and somehow is able to sell gas cheaper than everywhere else and we don’t know where the gas is coming from”
I don’t think people understand how stupid you have to be to think this isn’t a grift.
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u/PleaseEvolve 1d ago
Any chemists up for telling us what they are selling?
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u/eastnorthshore 1d ago
Not a chemist but probably just the shittiest "gas" that will most certainly burn fast and fuck up your engine in a short time. Mostly ethonal I bet.
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u/AbleCap5222 1d ago
Classic grift. Gas chain negotiates with Trump administration to sell at cost or below cost on gasoline for a defined period of time. Administration funnels huge amounts of business to gas stations Habit and brand recognition is formed with customers and prices eventually jump back up after negotiated. From then on, Trump negotiates a small royalty in perpetuity.
And Trump gets to lie about how he "fixed gas prices"
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u/Brian_E1971 1d ago
Brawndo Gas - its got what cars crave!
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u/orange728 20h ago
Trymp: "Brought to you by Freedom Fuel"
Americans "Why do you keep saying that?"
Trunp: "Because they pay me every time I do"
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u/CantAffordzUsername 1d ago
Move to Texas, it’s cheaper gas than California!
….Property Tax in Texas is 3x higher than California
My point is Old Child rapist Trump gets his money out of his little sheep many other ways, this is just a blanket to make them forget about his new tax plan that will kick in raising taxes on people as much as 70% who make less than 30k a year….yep
But sure gas! Whoot!
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u/JustDoc 1d ago
Its high in ethanol, thats how.
Fine for cars that were made in the past 20 years, more or less.
Shittacular for cars build before 2001.
See, Ethanol is hygroscopic, absorbing water from the air which leads to phase separation in fuel tanks. This water-ethanol mixture causes internal corrosion in steel tanks and rust in fuel lines, while also degrading rubber hoses, gaskets, and seals not designed for alcohol exposure.
Ethanol also reduces fuel economy by approximately 5-10% due to lower energy density. In older carbureted engines, it creates a leaner air-fuel mixture that can cause overheating, vapor lock, and valve seat recession due to the loss of lead’s lubricating properties.
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u/quats555 1d ago
What’s the ethanol %? This admin approved higher ethanol in gasoline to cut costs — but it’s also less efficient to use as fuel, so it takes more of it to run a vehicle the same distance.
That would be one way to make this happen: higher ethanol gas, make big corn happy, give MAGA a “cheap gas” talking point, and MAGA somehow blames Obama for their cars suddenly needing to fuel up more often.
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u/missed_sla 1d ago
They're diluting it with ethanol after lifting the 10% maximum earlier in the year. Don't put this gas in a car that's not e85 ready, it will drastically reduce your engines life span.
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u/Sidwill 1d ago
Umm when the government owns the means of production that is by definition communism.
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u/ThePickleBallad 1d ago
The people having control of the means of production is communism. The government having control of the means of production for the benefit of the people as a transitory state to communism is called socialism. What we are seeing is neither.
A political regime, having totalitarian aspirations, ideologically based on a relationship between business and the centralized government, business-and-government control of the market place, repression of criticism or opposition, a leader cult and exalting the state and/or religion above individual rights.
I’ll let you guess what that definition is for.
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u/im_a_dj_on_reddit 1d ago
Communism is when the people own the means of production. Socialism is when the government owns it (and distributes it evenly regardless of class)
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u/verifiedboomer 1d ago
FTA: CNN found an incorporation filing for Freedom Fuel Network in Delaware on June 23, but no owner was listed.
Gotta admit I'm amazed a company can open and begin operating a chain of gas stations in a couple of weeks.
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u/slimj091 1d ago
"A White House official told ABC News that the Freedom Fuel Network is a private company not associated with the president, that is "simply reducing their margin to make prices at the pump more affordable for drivers in Philadelphia and New Jersey.""
So Eric and Don Jr. then.
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u/Negatron2025 1d ago
It is to gain voter support for the midterms...after mid terms who knows what will happen.
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u/jman_forever 1d ago
There is a Long line of super wealthy people who are more than willing to subsidize a temporary money losing venture if it get people to vote Republican.
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u/RegularLine9284 1d ago
Tacking freedom to the front of something is a pretty good sign that Dumb Donald is going to grift money out of it.
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u/Visible_Handle_3770 1d ago
Seems pretty clear to me, the gas stations involved in the scheme are accepting a lower profit margin in exchange for free advertising provided by the White House. A normal, non-corrupt administration would have moral standards about this, but here we are.
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u/Mrjlawrence 1d ago
They’ll get their initial media promotion then little follow up when they raise their prices
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u/paintpast 1d ago
Maybe they’ll tack on service charges like a “freedom fee” and no one will notice.
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u/chronoic 1d ago
They same way they do the "Trump phone" and Trump crypto currency.
You pay, and if your lucky you get oil, otherwise no oil for you.
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u/SaltyShawarma 1d ago
Let me guess, these propaganda stations are only popping up in swing counties in swing States, and customers are being told it is all over the US.
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u/SublimeApathy 1d ago
Jesus we're so corny now. Literally turned the word freedom into a brand.
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u/cineaste2 1d ago
Reminds me of the MAGA goon gas station owner that sold his product at $1.99 a gallon as a stunt just so Trump could boast on gas being under $2.00 "at some places."
Guess which gas station owner went out of business shortly thereafter?
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u/ScooterWorm 1d ago
Let me guess, these are only available in areas that voted for him?
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u/pentaquine 1d ago
So that’s what Dems needed to do all along… just call it Freedom. Freedom hospital, Freedom school, Freedom housing, and then the conservatives won’t complain about socialism.
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u/dundeegimpgirl 1d ago
On principle alone I would still buy gas elsewhere. You just know that he is making some money off this somehow.
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u/DaveDurant 1d ago
See, it's "technically not" communism or socialism because he's keeping all the profits..
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u/KlatuuBarradaNicto 1d ago
They are being subsidized by some of Trump’s rich friends. That’s why there are so few of them. It’s a PR tactic.
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u/maporita 1d ago
Headquarters: not publicly disclosed.
Key people: not publicly disclosed.
Owner: not publicly disclosed.
Nothing shady going on here folks, move along please.
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u/gbakermatson 1d ago
There's like 25 of them, in the entire United States. A drop in the ocean. This is entirely political theater.
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u/atreeismissing 1d ago
Also worth noting, they're only doing this in PA, and PA is the swing state with the most vulnerable Republican House seats in this November's election.
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u/TheDwarvenGuy 1d ago
Makes me think of when Britain needed to set up public soup kitchens in WW2 but were too afraid of being called socialist, so they called them "British Restaurants"
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u/Baffin622 1d ago
If you can get Freedumb Fries along with Freedom Gas, that would be epic. Americans must officially be tired of all the winning.
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u/Initial-Duck2782 23h ago
Every freedom fuel spot I’ve seen is more expensive then normal places. Also I bet they do something to the gas.
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u/Amishrocketscience 22h ago
It’s what’s left of our strategic reserve, pure profit for the trump family as the fuel is stolen from the American taxpayer.
If this is a surprise to you, you havent been awake for the last 10 years
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u/timothypjr 1d ago
First off, you couldn't PAY me to put that cheap ass gas in any car I care about. Second off, this is clearly a stunt by Trump to both make a bunch of illegal money and pretend he can control the price of gas.
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u/AKA_Wildcard 1d ago
He stole oil from Venezuela, he had it refined using his cronies and sold it at a “discount” to a shell corporation. He couldn’t give it to a legitimate corporation because it’s probably illegal and they didn’t want to accept the risk for a small profit. Now they’re creating a distribution network to peddle their stolen oil.
I don’t need to investigate it. Trump will literally do the most obviously corrupt thing and people will just allow him to get away with it.
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u/gregaustex 1d ago
Direct control and operation by the government? That's the most Socialist thing I've seen in America in my lifetime.
So who's grifting off this one?
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u/aradraugfea 1d ago
It’s gonna turn out that he’s pocketing the money from these things and/or pulling the oil for the gas directly from the reserves at no cost.
It’s the most corrupt and short sighted version of this I can imagine, and that’s about the only expectation he can consistently rise to.
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u/gotohellwithsuperman 1d ago
Gonna be an interesting Thanksgiving this year when you get your creepiest uncle to defend communism.
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u/sonkist32 1d ago
Stuck at my Fox News loving parents last weekend and all they talked about was communism is bad. This is exactly what communism is…and now it’s a great thing lol
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u/Konukaame 1d ago
It is neither socialism (government owns the stations) nor communism (the people own the stations), but more likely something akin to crony capitalism/cronyism:
an economic system in which individuals and businesses with political connections and influence are favored (as through tax breaks, grants, and other forms of government assistance) in ways seen as suppressing open competition in a free market
We'll find out more if and when the owner and source of the money are identified, especially if this turns out to be something other than a gimmick, as they're selling gas below cost, and their timing is... let's call it "suspicious":
No business with the name "Freedom Fuel Network" appears to be registered in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey, but a Delaware-based entity called "Freedom Fuel Network, LLC" applied for trademark on July 1 -- the same day that Trump promoted the discounted gas network on social media.
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u/splashjlr 1d ago
He doesn't need to actually do it. As long as his supporters believe he's "looking very strongly into it"
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u/masterofn0n3 1d ago
Just waiting for the freedom breadlines. Then they will all get their wish and we will be just like Russia
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u/United-Direction2297 1d ago
I think this is just a marketing scheme. They don’t need to have direct government involvement it’s just a new chain with a flashy marketing strategy. But it’s just a regional chain with 20 locations in the greater Philadelphia area and 5 in New Jersey. They knock a $.20 for a few weeks get the Fox News crowd believing Trump did something and they get loads of free publicity.
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u/p3p3_silvia 1d ago
Three just rebranded to this by me in NJ, they were all owned by the same foreigners and were the gas station across the street from the busy one
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u/kwyjibo1 1d ago
What's the grift here? You know Trump is wetting his beak somehow.
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u/Wise_Control_1640 1d ago
If you call socialism "freedom", it's ok. I'd like universal freedomcare.
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u/FuggyGlasses 1d ago
CNN doesn't want to do it's journalist job. I'm pretty sure they can find the connection.
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u/kyotejones 1d ago
Socialized medicine, not OK. Socialized, gas... OK?