‘It’s Not 78° in Here!’ Conservative Guest Throws Down With Abby Phillip Over Mamdani AC Plea

Conservative commentator Ben Ferguson threw down with CNN’s Abby Phillip over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) plea that his constituents set their thermostats to 78 degrees to conserve energy during the ongoing heat wave.

After making note of the right’s reaction to Mamdani’s ask and noting that others, including Nikki Haley and Department of Energy, have made similar ones, Phillip declared the issue “a bizarre hill to die on,” telling Ferguson, “I don’t understand this.”

“Do you support it?” inquired Ferguson.

“Ask Nikki Haley!” shot back Phillip.

“No, I’m asking you. Like, do you think, when you saw that, you were like, ‘Hell yeah, let me walk over and knock that number up to 78?'” asked Ferguson. “Just to be clear: it’s not 78 degrees in here right now, either. Like, no one’s going to abide by this. Like, it’s absurd!”

Phillip responded by reading a statement from 2015 in which Haley asked South Carolinians to keep their thermostats at 68 degrees in the winter, as well as a plea similar to Mamdani’s rom New York City energy provider Con Edison.

As Ferguson attempted to make the case for “better” power grids, Phillip interjected to tell him, “You can let this one go if you want… you don’t have to jump off the partisan cliff.”

Mamdani’s original tweet from Wednesday read:

New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool.

Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can.

Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment.

A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let’s ease demand — and get through the heat — together.

Watch above via CNN.

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