Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) slammed President Donald Trump on Monday amid rising fuel costs and ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, criticizing the earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the U.S. and Iran.
Greatest Foreign Policy Fiasco
Schumer, taking to the social media platform X, slammed the situation with Iran as he shared a link to a New York Times article stating that both parties had surpassed the stipulated 60-day period to reach a broader deal. “Trump’s memorandum of misunderstanding with Iran has been an utter failure and complete flop,” Schumer said.
He added that the administration had failed to reach any of Trump’s stated goals, including offsetting fuel costs. He said that Trump had instead “hammered Americans with gas skyrocketing above $4 per gallon.”
The Senate Minority Leader called the MoU “one of the greatest foreign policy fiascos in American history,” adding that Trump was a President who did not know what he was doing.
“Donald Trump has failed our troops and has failed our nation. We must end this war immediately with serious diplomacy so we can begin to rebuild from the damage he has wrought,” Schumer said.
Trump’s memorandum of misunderstanding with Iran has been an utter failure and complete flop that has delivered no progress towards his stated goals – but has hammered Americans with gas skyrocketing above $4 per gallon.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 17, 2026
It is one of the greatest foreign policy fiascos in…
The national average price of gas saw a marginal decline on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA) data. Gas remained above $4 on Monday at $4.0636/gallon, slightly lower than Sunday’s average of $4.0656/gallon. However, prices in California were up at $5.5768/gallon on Monday.
GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan had earlier signaled alarm amid rising prices for Americans, saying that the national average price had never been more than $4/gallon after August 12 in U.S. history.
U.S.-Iran War Updates
Trump rejected a ceasefire extension with Iran, saying that Washington would not extend the interim agreement after the 60-day period expired Monday. Iranian officials reportedly warned that Tehran could take a more offensive stance if talks failed.
Earlier, Trump had said that the U.S. was in control of the Strait of Hormuz, which was denied by the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA), an Iranian government agency tasked with overseeing the flow of traffic through the waterway, which was responsible for transporting 20 million barrels of oil per day in 2025.
Iranian leaders have reaffirmed demands for compensation as well as the release of frozen assets and sanctions relief as key conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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