According to CoinMeta, as oil prices in the United States exceeded $4 per gallon, Trump criticized large oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron for "making too much money." He stated that while these companies reported huge profits, consumers were facing high oil prices, and argued that oil companies should return some of their profits to the public and lower retail prices. According to AAA data, the national average price of regular gasoline in the U.S. at the beginning of August was $4.09 per gallon, compared to about $3.15 a year earlier. Trump's remarks sparked widespread discussion about the pricing practices of major oil companies.