Crashed...

 

Trump's interventionist approach continued in April 2020 when oil prices crashed below zero for the first time ever. 

Realizing that dirt-cheap oil prices threatened jobs in key Republican states, Trump did an incredible shocking 180 and successfully urged OPEC slash oil production.

"It was one of the most stunning epiphanies in modern energy diplomacy," said McNally, who previously served as an energy official under former President George W. Bush. "The arch foe of OPEC became the master of a deal in which they cut production. That's man- bites-dog stuff."

The situation in the energy market couldn't be any more different today. After collapsing during the onset of Covid, energy demand is rising sharply as Americans hit the skies and the roads.

Yet supply can't keep up. OPEC+ continues to hold back the production it sidelined last year. OPEC pumped 25.5 million barrels per day in May, down sharply from the 2019 average of 29.3 million.

Powered by the shale revolution, domestic oil production hit a record 13.1 million barrels per day in March 2020. 

Biden should ease the restriction on energy production to overcome the disaster to come.  Just a thought.