JD Vance Says You Should Be Grateful Gas Prices Aren’t Even Higher

Vice President JD Vance thinks Americans should be more grateful that gas prices aren’t higher.

Speaking to the press at the White House Thursday, Vance said that the U.S. was the only country capable of ensuring that world energy markets “continue to stay supplied.” He claimed that if the U.S. left the Persian Gulf, there would be “no guaranteed access to oil and gas” and that the U.S.’s Gulf Arab allies say “that would be the worst thing in the world.”

The alternative, Vance said, was accepting that “the Iranians were going to shoot at ships like crazy people.”

“We’re going to do what we have to do in order to ensure that their efforts don’t lead to a worldwide energy crisis. We’ve been quite successful up to this point. Gas, frankly, could’ve been much, much higher were it not for our efforts,” Vance continued.

In the U.S., gas prices were less than $3 per gallon before the start of the Iran war in February, and since then, the national average is now $4.14. That increase has cost Americans more than $50 billion, according to a Brown University analysis. As of this writing, the most expensive gas in America is in California, where car owners are spending as much as $5.78 per gallon. That has hurt the economy, with Americans spending a lot less money on vacations over the summer. Flights and road trips have also declined, as jet fuel costs have also been affected by the Iran war.

Vance’s comments belie the fact that the Iran war was arbitrarily and unnecessarily started by the Trump administration. There was no threat to the flow of oil and gas or other maritime traffic traversing through the Strait of Hormuz prior to the war. If not for the efforts of President Trump, gas would in fact be much, much, lower.

The Pentagon on Thursday took down recently published clinical guidance for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mandatory testosterone screening requirements for troops.

Before Thursday, the Pentagon’s website showed a link for “Clinical Guidance for Health and Human Performance Optimization” that explained Hegseth’s testosterone deficiency screening requirements for male and female service members 30 and older. On Thursday, that link read “PAGE NOT FOUND.”

“The draft (document) published on September ​2, 2026, has been temporarily rescinded to allow for updates,” an anonymous official told Reuters. The reversal leaves the status of the controversial program unknown, as the department offered neither a timeline nor specifics on what was going to be updated.

Hegseth announced the controversial program last month.

“Today, I’m authorizing a new screening program for testosterone deficiency for our service members—ensuring you have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best. Because it’s well-established science that as we age, testosterone levels often, naturally, drop,” he said in July. “Warfighters aged 30 and older are gonna be tested annually as part of their periodic health assessments.... Those under 30 can voluntarily choose to get the test as well.... If treatment is recommended, it’s entirely your choice to receive testosterone replacement therapy.”

President Donald Trump is taking extraordinary efforts to keep protesters out of his eyeline.

Trump officials will present plans Thursday to install permanent fencing around Lafayette Square Park in Washington D.C., a historic gathering place for protesters, four people told The Washington Post.

The move comes more than eight months after Lafayette Square was originally closed on January 19 for a “major rehabilitation,” set to reopen on May 31. That deadline came and went, but the fences stayed up. Now the Trump White House is hoping to make the fences surrounding the park permanent.

The project has been a longtime priority for the Secret Service that will finally be made a reality at the expense of the public. Trump officials will also present plans for a $180 million visitor-screening facility.

Permanent changes to transform the White House complex into an impenetrable fortress would radically reshape the institution’s already rocky relationship with the surrounding city Trump’s been using as a personal playground all summer. The move serves as a startling distillation of the ever-widening gap between the Trump administration and the people it purports to represent.

The National Parks Service announced Tuesday that in addition to Lafayette Square Park, Sherman Park, the First Division Monument, and the Ellipse would also remain restricted areas through September 22.

“Lesser restrictive measures will not suffice due to the Secret Service’s security-based assessment based on its assessment of sensitive intelligence that these park areas need to be kept clear,” the agency said in a statement.

The pedestrianized stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House, which has served as a viewing spot for tourists and a gathering place for protesters for two decades, would also remain closed. Earlier this summer, the area was transformed into a parking lot for Trump’s various celebratory events. Later, the Secret Service decided to install permanent fencing, allowing it to close pedestrian access if it deems there are security risks.

The recent efforts to fortify the White House come amid heightened security threats resulting from Trump’s optional war against Iran.

Maybe we could actually believe that this was purely a precautionary measure if Trump wasn’t obsessed with making sweeping, unilateral changes to the White House grounds. Not to mention his rampant authoritarianism that has led to the useless militarization of Washington, D.C. It seems clear that the president, who regularly lashes out against critics, isn’t interested in getting any more angry feedback from the American people.

Walmart has pulled a Nazi costume from its inventory after facing a typhoon of public blowback.

The outfit was made by Orion Costumes and marketed as a “German Army Soldier Adult Costume” that included a jacket, trousers, attached boots, a belt, and a hat. The outfit was also sold by other major retailers, including Amazon and Target.

Walmart initially sold the fit as a “vintage-themed” costume inspired by 1940s military gear, but its source material was obvious: One advert of the high-collared grey garb photoshopped the model in front of a German flag.

By Thursday morning, the costume had been stripped from all three companies’ respective websites without explanation.

The New Republic reached out to Walmart, Target, and Amazon asking why the item had been removed, as well as why the item was listed in the first place. The companies did not respond to the request by the time of publication.

It’s not the only egregious inventory decision made in the run-up to the Halloween season. Last month, Target faced another round of backlash for selling what customers described as a racist caricature inspired by Jim Crow–era minstrels. The marketing images for the outfit featured a Black child model, further incensing critics who argued the company was perpetrating wildly harmful symbols that were historically used to justify racial discrimination and violence.

Target issued an apology after pulling the costume from its shelves, claiming that they were “deeply sorry” that they “got this wrong.”

“We know this is especially hurtful for our Black guests, team members and partners,” the statement read. “Removing the costume is an important first step, and the company is looking closely at how this happened and what needs to change to ensure this won’t happen again.”

A U.S. military widow whose husband was killed in the Iran war claims that she is being denied death benefits.

Libby Klinner, the widow of U.S. Air Force Major John “Alex” Klinner, who died in a crash in Iraq in March, said on Instagram Sunday that she had not received certain military benefits as a surviving spouse.

“The Air Force recently told me that because we haven’t officially declared war, my kids and I aren’t eligible for some benefits,” Klinner wrote. “So, not only was my husband killed in a war he never wanted to participate in, but now the benefits we’re left with are being dictated by semantics and public perception.”

In a follow-up post Tuesday, Klinner said that the Air Force’s director of mortuary affairs had contacted her after the initial post to audit her benefits. She has not posted any updates about her benefits since.

The Air Force has reached out to Klinner, a spokesperson told the Daily Express, in order “to ensure she is receiving all eligible benefits she and her family are entitled to, as well as ensure all her questions are fully addressed.”

“We understand this matter has been difficult for Mrs. Klinner and her family, and we are committed to addressing her concerns with care and respect,” the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to providing clear information and continued support to Mrs. Klinner, as well as all the families of the Airmen who died in the KC-135 crash.”

Klinner’s husband is one of 18 U.S. service members who have been killed during the war with Iran. Another 757 people have been wounded, according to the Department of Defense. President Trump has mishandled the war, seemingly operating without a plan, and has stopped and restarted hostilities in order to make the dubious legal claim that the conflict hasn’t been one unceasing war but several small ones, in an effort to avoid accountability. If Klinner’s claim is true, it seems that this legal sleight of hand may also be to deny military benefits.