In early May 2026, social media users shared a screenshot claiming to show an X post from U.S. President Donald Trump offering Americans tips for saving gas, including the suggestion that they "only drive downhill whenever possible."
The text of the alleged post (archived) read:
Gas prices are a little high right now, maybe because we're WINNING too much, but that's okay, because REAL Americans know how to adapt. Patriots don't complain, they conserve. Here are some great, very smart tips: Keep your tires properly inflated. Big one. Huge. Saves a lot of gas, people don't even realize. Drive steady, no crazy speeding like the lunatics. Smooth wins. Always. Only drive downhill whenever possible. I've been saying this for years, gravity is FREE energy. Nobody uses it like we should. Fill your tank at night so the gasoline is cooler and therefore more powerful. Science! Do your part. Save gas. Don't be a liberal Democrat about it.
The image circulating online appeared to show that the post was published at 11:26 a.m. on May 1, 2026, and received 3.3 million views.
(Instagram user @troykunze66)
The screenshot of Trump's alleged X post spread on Facebook, X, Instagram and Threads, with some users appearing to believe it was real. Snopes readers also emailed us and searched our website to determine whether Trump really shared the advice to save gas.
However, Trump did not share such a post. As of this writing, Trump had not posted on his official X account since March 2, 2026. Searches of Trump's Truth Social account and Trump's Truth, a website that archives the president's posts on the platform, also found no evidence of the alleged post.
A Google search for the alleged post's text produced no reputable news reports confirming that Trump shared it, which likely would have been the case if it were authentic. Instead, search results only led back to social media posts and reposts of the same fabricated screenshot.
(Google search)
It was unclear who first created or shared the fabricated image. The earliest examples we found were social media reposts, none of which conclusively identified the screenshot's source. We will update this article if more information becomes available.
Oil and gas prices were at the center of legitimate news coverage when the fake post circulated online, which may have contributed to its spread. On April 30, 2026, Reuters reported that Trump told reporters gas prices would "drop like a rock" once the Iran war ended. According to the news outlet, global oil prices had hit a four-year high amid concerns the U.S.-Iran war could lead to prolonged supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Some of the advice in the fake post was loosely based on real fuel-saving guidance. FuelEconomy.gov, a website administered by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says keeping tires properly inflated can improve gas mileage by 0.6% on average and up to 3% in some cases. The same site says aggressive driving, including speeding, rapid acceleration and braking, wastes gas and can reduce mileage by 15% to 30% at highway speeds and 10% to 40% in stop-and-go traffic.
But the screenshot's more absurd advice — such as driving downhill whenever possible because "gravity is FREE energy" — was not found on Trump's social media accounts or in archives of his posts.
For further reading, Snopes has investigated numerous fake Trump Truth Social posts.