A top Republican in the US House of Representatives on Thursday lied so blatantly that even a Trump-friendly CNBC host felt compelled to fact check him.
During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La) defended Republicans’ management of the US economy, which is currently experiencing an oil price shock thanks to President Donald Trump’s illegal war of choice with Iran.
Scalise predicted that Republicans would hold onto their narrow House majority in the November midterms, and then falsely claimed that gas prices today are lower than they were two years ago when former President Joe Biden was still in office.
“People will remember, two years ago, we were paying almost $6 per gallon of gasoline, right now it’s in the [$3 range],” Scalise falsely claimed. “Obviously, we’ve seen a jump with the Iran conflict...”
At this point, host Joe Kernen, a longtime Trump golfing buddy, interjected.
“When were we paying $6 [per gallon]?” Kernen asked.
“Two-and-a-half years ago,” Scalise replied.
“That wasn’t the average price,” Kernen said.
According to data collected by AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in late October 2023 was $3.53 per gallon, or nearly $0.80 lower than the current average price of $4.30 per gallon.
Scalise also said that gas prices would drop at the end of Trump’s illegal war with Iran, which he falsely claimed was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
“Did anybody want a nuclear-armed Iran?” Scalise said. “I think if...
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