Trump-Promoted Discount-Fuel Chain Launches

A chain of 25 discount-fuel stations that’s being promoted by the Trump administration has launched in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, report a variety of news sources. The first such business – operating under the Freedom Fuel banner — is open in Dresher, Pa., a northern suburb of Philadelphia, according to a video the White House uploaded to its YouTube channel on July 7.

But, reports C-Store Dive, “several aspects of the business remain unclear, including how many of its other 24 sites — if any — are open, as well as who owns or operates Freedom Fuel and how, and for how long it plans to sustain gasoline prices well below the market average.”

Further, a White House spokesperson declined to tell C-SD who runs Freedom Fuel, other than to say it is a privately owned company that has not received funding from either the White House or the Trump family. That despite the administration’s promotion of the business and the video’s repeated references to President Trump, including the statement that the $3.47-per-gallon price is in his honor.

C-Store Dive also did some checking into the 25 locations listed on Freedom Fuel’s website and found the company is rebranding existing gas stations rather than building new ones. Five locations in the Philadelphia area were previously branded as Gas N Go, while six others — including the Dresher station featured in the White House video — previously operated under the Sunoco brand.

Representatives from Freedom Fuel did not respond to C-Store Dive’s requests for further information.