President Donald Trump spent part of Monday explaining that the United States is sitting on roughly half of the world's crude oil, with a helpful assist from Venezuela. He also kept pushing to import Russian diesel into the US. One of those things is a geopolitical brag. The other is now a potential legal fight with the governor of New Jersey.

First, a quick detour through the Iran war

The official Department of State handle on X shared a clip of Trump's Fox News interview Monday, in which the president touted America's oil assets and took a swing at former President Barack Obama's 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. Trump called the deal a "disaster" and said it was a "road to the nuclear weapon" for Tehran.

"It was time for us to stop them," Trump said, calling Iran the "number one state sponsor" of global terror and describing the Iran war as a "little detour" for the US.

He also made the case that the economy has held up fine through it. "Our stock market's higher now than it was before this [Iran war] started. And our 401ks are higher," he said. Trump added that the war was necessary because the country had "killed many of our people."

Half the world's oil, give or take

Then came the oil math. "We have hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into our country and we have total control of Venezuela," Trump said during the interview. He noted that the war with Venezuela lasted "much less" than a day.

"When you add up the United States oil and Venezuela's, we probably have over 50 percent of the world's oil," he said. Trump added that the US had more oil than "Saudi Arabia, Russia, and take the next largest country combined."

That's a big claim, but it fits a pattern. At a rally in Texas late last month, Trump said the US received a shipment of 1 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. He also floated the idea that Venezuela could one day become the 51st state of the US and hold gubernatorial elections. Which is one way to think about nation-building.

New Jersey has thoughts about Russian diesel

Amid the war with Iran, Trump has touted importing Russian diesel into the US to offset high costs at the pump. His administration even temporarily allowed the sale of red-dyed diesel in the US for highway use.

Democratic leaders are not fans. Governor Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey took to X on Monday to warn ports against importing Russian oil.

"I sent a letter putting New Jersey's port and terminal operators on notice: importing Russian diesel violates federal law and could carry serious civil and criminal consequences," Sherrill said.

The governor added that the state "will not stand by while Donald Trump supports Vladimir Putin at the expense of Americans." She argued the Russia oil deal would instead fund "Putin's war against Ukraine and a campaign of violence and terror that endangers our service members abroad."

Meanwhile, the US is striking Qeshm Island

The comments come as the US reportedly conducted multiple strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island, off the coast of the port city of Bandar Abbas, in recent weeks. Officials familiar with the attacks described them as defensive in nature.

That's a bit awkward given that Trump had earlier touted de-escalation in the Iran war. CIA director John Ratcliffe reportedly advised Trump not to strike Iran, but also not to rush toward a deal either. So: not shooting, not negotiating. A holding pattern with missiles nearby.

Oil is moving

Oil futures were up at the time of writing. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expiring in December were up 1.76% to $98.16. Brent futures contracts expiring in January 2027 gained 1.92% to $106.78.

On the ETF front, the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) ETF rose 4.77% to $63.07 during overnight trading on Monday. The United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) ETF gained 2.44% to $160.70 during overnight trading.