President Donald Trump said OPEC “is essentially a monopoly,” even as he credited his own “talent” for having brought down oil prices. “Four months ago, oil hit $83 a barrel,” Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden after meeting with Congressional leaders to try and reach a deal on the partial government shutdown. Oil “was heading to $100 and then it could have gone to $125.” Trump repeated his statement from earlier this week that his efforts made the difference in bringing down the oil price. “After I made some phone calls to OPEC and the OPEC nations — which is essentially a monopoly — all of a sudden, it started coming down,” he said. “Didn’t happen by luck, it happened through talent.” Trump has […]