Who’s Behind Those Mysterious Trump-Promoted ‘Freedom Fuel’ Gas Stations?

In a video promoted directly by the White House, a series of drivers pulls up to a red-, white- and blue-colored gas station and thanks President Donald Trump by name for the low prices advertised by a mysterious new business: Freedom Fuel.

Despite the video’s suggestion that Trump had something to do with the decision for Freedom Fuel to lower its prices well below market average — $3.47 in honor of the 47th president — the White House insists the effort is being led by a private company and that the marketing campaign was simply meant to highlight the patriotic American business.

“There is no other entity or person subsidizing the lower gasoline costs,” a White House official told NOTUS when asked about the unusual ad shared on official administration channels. “They are simply reducing their margin to make prices at the pump more affordable for drivers in Philadelphia and New Jersey. This retailer is taking the lead; others should follow.”

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, told Quartz earlier this week that it is unlikely Freedom Fuel is making any money on the scheme.

“Stations selling at this price, it’s not sustainable,” De Haan told Quartz. “Generally, when losses happen, somebody’s got to pay for it.”

It’s unclear when the Freedom Fuel stations were first unveiled, though the company’s state business record in Delaware, where the company is based, shows an incorporation date of June 23.

Trump confused many last week when he posted about Freedom Fuel and shared an apparent AI-generated image of a station using the company’s branding, referring to its “VERY smart” proprietor simply as “this retailer.”

There are 25 Freedom Fuel stations in all, spread across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to a sparse, recently created website for the company.

The Freedom Fuel Network did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A trademark application for the Freedom Fuel Network was filed the same day as Trump’s AI-generated post. Attached to it was an address in Wilmington, Delaware, for the Corporation Trust Center, a registered-agent center that receives legal and tax correspondences.

The Corporation Trust Center is also home to Walmart, Apple, General Motors and hundreds of Trump’s own businesses, according to state records. Corporations are known to register in Delaware for a business-friendly law colloquially known as the “Delaware loophole” that permits companies to minimize taxes by legally shifting earnings to Delaware. State laws also shield the owners of some kinds of companies from being revealed publicly.

Anna Vishev, an attorney based in Staten Island, was identified on a trademark application filed by Freedom Fuel as the business’s lawyer. She told NOTUS over email that she was “not authorized to disclose any information regarding this matter beyond what is officially included in the public database of the U.S. Trademark Office.”