CNBC’s Joe Kernen Shuts Down GOP Lawmaker’s Rosy Spin on Gas Prices: ‘You Must Have Been on Vacation’

CNBC’s Joe Kernen corrected Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) on Thursday as the lawmaker claimed gas prices have fallen from $6 a gallon in just two years in a bid to give a positive spin on pain at the pump.

On Squawk Box, Kernen pressed Scalise on Republicans’ chances of holding onto control of the House in the midterms, something he noted prediction markets don’t normally favor.

“Do you think there’s any way that your party holds on in November to the House?” Kernen asked.

“Absolutely, and look, it’s a path that is focused on turnout No. 1 and delivery. What we’ve delivered to finally start turning this mess around that we inherited a year and a half ago. People that will remember, you go back two years ago, we were paying almost $6 a gallon for gasoline. Right now it’s in the threes. Obviously, we’ve seen a jump with the Iran conflict,” Scalise said.

“When were we paying $6?” a confused Kernen asked.

According to AAA, the average gas price nationally is $4.30. The average sat at just under $3 before strikes against Iran were launched at the end of February.

“Two and a half years ago,” Scalise insisted about his price claim.

“I don’t think we were at six,” Kernen said. “That wasn’t the average price.”

Scalise continued:

We were over 30% below where we were just two years ago. Today we are 30% below where we where two years. It’s still going to go lower when Iran gets resolved and the Strait of Hormuz gets open. But at the same time did anybody want a nuclear-armed Iran? I think if you ask most normal people they would say absolutely not, when they just slaughtered 30,000 of their own people. They were about to get a nuclear weapon and President [Donald] Trump stopped that, but that’s going to get resolved.

“You must have been on vacation in California. I think two years ago in April of 2024, we were at about $3.65, so we’re actually above where we were then,” Kernen said.

“We were well into the fives under [former President Joe] Biden,” Scalise said.

“At one point. Not two years ago,” Kernen pushed back. “We were at $3.65 two years ago.”

“Most of energy production shut down. Energy in the Gulf of America was shut down, Alaska was shut down. We opened that up, by the way, in the working families tax cut,” Scalise said.

“Right, but exactly two years ago was $3.65-$3.67,” Kernen shot back. “And I’m not saying that $4 or whatever it is now, that the long-term goals that we’re trying to accomplish in the Middle East, I’m saying it’s not worth it for a brief time. But it’s definitely going to hurt people, obviously, this summer.”

Watch above via CNBC.

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