Gas prices have been dropping under President Donald Trump, and with Americans so concerned about affordability, that’s a good thing. But the White House fumbled the ball when it posted the news on social media, showing the U.S. really does need a Department of Education. Republican preside ntial nominee, former President Donald Trump, holds a campaign rally at the PPG Paints Arena on November 04, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With one day left before the general election, Trump is campaigning for re-election in the battleground states of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The White House post on X on Monday, Jan. 12, not only showed a map that didn’t make sense, but the word “forty” was misspelled. The post spelled it “fourty.” “Gas prices continue to plummet nationwide. Now FOURTY THREE U.S. states feature average gas prices under $3/gallon!” the post stated. Gas prices continue to plummet nationwide. Now FOURTY THREE U.S. states feature average gas prices under $3/gallon! pic.twitter.com/vaAAhuwcX9— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 12, 2026 The actual press release cited Gas Buddy for the price data, but Triple A shows 41 states with gas prices under $3 a gallon as of Tuesday, Jan. 13, not the 43 the Trump administration was trying to brag about before the word misspelling hijacked the conversation. By the way, forty was spelled “fourty” 600 years ago in Middle English. ‘There Will be Consequences!’: Democrats Move to Impeach Kristi Noem — and This Time It’s Not Just Talk And social media did exactly what it’s known for: zeroing in on the misspelling until the actual news about decreasing fuel costs got lost in the blowback. “Attempting to dismantle the Department of Education all while spelling the word FORTY incorrectly is hilarious!” a Threads user said. Another noted, “It’s not ‘incorrect,’ it’s just not the American spelling that we use in the USA. Which begs the question: who TF is running official social media for the White House? “This is crazy work!” this Threads user agreed. Others pointed out it’s not just Trump and his cronies who can’t spell. “My maga congressman can’t spell,” this Threads user chined in above a post with a misspelling about SNAP benefits. Still, more users have had enough of what critics call the obvious stupidity of members of the Trump administration. “It’s to the point when I can’t tell if this is real, or if it’s @theonion,” poster Alex V Sim admitted. This Threads user agreed, “The audacity and idiocy are just incredible.” But the post shows that Trump is finally taking the affordability crisis many Americans are facing seriously. For months last year, the President unbelievably seemed to have no clue about what affordability even meant, let alone the high prices for everyday goods and services. Then, when the issue wouldn’t go away, he claimed affordability issues were a “Democratic hoax” before finally acknowledging the problem and promising to address it. Trump and Vice President JD Vance actually ran for the White House in 2024, promising to lower prices, as Trump said at the time, “on his first day in office.” That didn’t happen and it still hasn’t. But what has happened, especially given it’s a mid-term election year, is that the President finally announced an effort at lowering prices on everyday goods, according to NBC News. The last inflation report of 2025 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed inflation is still higher than the Federal Reserve would like. Prices rose 2.7 percent in December compared to a year ago, NBC reported, and the Fed likes to see inflation at 2 percent as a standard marker for a healthy economy. And while gas prices dropped 0.5 percent in December, food prices soared 0.7 percent. Many of the stats the agency is reporting may be off because of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which began at the start of October and ended in mid-November. ‘That Is Crazy Work’: White House Tries to Brag About Trump’s Big Accomplishment — But Everyone Zooms In on the Same Embarrassing Error ...read more read less