Trump promises to slash energy prices, but can he?

WASHINGTON (TND) — Donald Trump is on the campaign trail making energy policy a key part of his economic pitch to voters. The end results are likely not a simple fix.

“We’re going to cut fuel prices in half in 12 months because the energy costs are so that, because the energy costs are so high. The biggest problem and you can see this in polling that people have is everything’s too expensive," Trump recently told Full Measure's Sharyl Attkisson.

The former President says he will drive down energy prices and, in turn, that would drive down the cost of living for Americans. He mentioned drilling for oil at his campaign stop in Georgia on Tuesday.

“We have the best oil on Earth and we have the most oil. Clean, beautiful stuff. And we’re going to use it, as I say drill, baby, drill," Trump told his supporters.

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Gas prices and inflation have followed similar trends over the past 5 years, rising and falling in similar ways.But energy experts say there's no quick solution to driving prices down.

“If a President could do that I think both sides of the aisle would have gasoline prices magically at $0.99 a gallon every day knowing that it would greatly enhance their electability," saidGasBuddy’s Head of Petroleum Analysis Patrick De Haan.

De Haan said a variety of things contribute to the price of oil including supply and demand, global factors, and business realities. A President has virtually no control over those factors.

“It would require oil companies to produce more. The President does not have control, he cannot mandate oil companies to produce more. Secondly, oil companies would essentially be losing money on every barrel if that half-price promise came into play. So, there’s just no world that I can see that this is even remotely possible," De Haan said of Trump's pitch.

Some analysts believe a more viable path to lowering prices is through cutting red tape for oil companies. That'ssomething that is often more a Republican cause rather than a Democratic one, but it could take years for customers to actually feel the effects of deregulation.