Speaking in an interview on Spectrum News NY1 on Thursday, May 23, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), made a wild comment on President Biden and former President Donald Trump, bizarrely alleging that Trump would, if he wins another term, let foreign energy producers “price gouge” Americans. Gas prices were much lower under Trump than Biden.
The interview came as AOC spoke about Trump’s South Bronx rally, about which she had previously said, “Donald Trump is broke. He needs money. He’s hosting a rally to try to con people and try to fleece them out of every dollar that they have to fund his own legal fees.” She added, “And by the way, he’s doing it in the South Bronx, not to make a point, but because he’s got court and the man practically has the legal version of an ankle bracelet around him, and he can’t leave the five boroughs because he always has to be in court. And so it is truly an embarrassment to him.”
In any case, during the NY1 interview, AOC attempted to downplay the rally by alleging that the rally would be full of “out-of-towners.” She said, “I suspect there’s going to be a lot of out-of-towners there.” She added, “And listen, we have a big, diverse city, I’m sure someone will be showing up supportive.”
She then alleged that Trump would let companies “price gouge,” saying, “But even on the economic point, we just saw that the former president met with oil executives last week saying, hey, you give me $1 billion, and I’ll make sure that you get the policies that are favorable to raising gas prices and making sure that a lot of these companies continue to price gouge without proper oversight or regulation.”
AOC then added, on that point, that it is “suspect” that Trump would let the oil companies make profits while he also would push down prices for those purchasing fuel, saying, “And so the idea that we’d be bringing those down when he’s cashing in for those same folks that are bringing those prices up, I think is a little bit suspect.”
Fox News Digital added context to Rep. AOC’s claim, noting htat gas prices haven risen tremendously since Biden entered office, though prices are down substantially from their June of 2022 peak, when a callon cost over $5. Fox News Digital reported:
The national average for a gallon of gas was nearly $3.62, up from $2.39 on Jan. 20, 2021, when the president was sworn in. Gas prices for part of 2022 – a year after Biden took office- were double what they were when he was sworn in. According to AAA, the highest recorded average price for unleaded gas in the U.S. was on June 14, 2022, when a gallon cost consumers $5.016.
The Biden Administration has, despite those facts, attempted to claim it is working on pushing down prices. For example, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said, in a statement, “The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season.″
KJP has defended Biden’s gas price record as well. Watch her attempt to do so here:
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