What did Sarah Paine say about reports of a Trump deal with Putin for diesel?

When Steven Bartlett raised reports that Donald Trump had made a deal with Vladimir Putin for diesel exports as pump prices neared $6, Sarah Paine called it disinformation. She said the rise in diesel prices tracks the Iran war, because refineries are set up for particular grades of oil and converting one costs millions and takes time. She said the diesel problem is the fault of Trump's war and that he is trying to blame Ukraine.

• Paine said grocery prices have risen sharply over the last two years, citing a $10 packet of oatmeal and tariffs on food from Mexico and Canada.

▸In their words

“Russia has no capacity to export diesel in sufficient quantities to make any difference whatsoever.” Sarah Paine · at 1:24:31 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett (2026-10-29). Read the whole episode summary →

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