In Lie-Filled Interview, Top GOP Lawmaker Falsely Claims Gas Was $6 a Gallon Under Biden—It Wasn't
Even Trump-friendly CNBC anchor Joe Kernen jumped in to fact-check false claims by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
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.
SCALISE: We've delivered. People will remember that two years ago, we were paying almost $6 a gallon for gas. Right now it's in the $3s
KERNEN: When were we paying $6?
SCALISE: Two and a half years ago
KERNEN: That wasn't the average price
SCALISE: We are lowering inflation… pic.twitter.com/xPD172NdYq
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2026
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 you ask most normal people, they would say absolutely not... they were about to get a nuclear weapon, and President Trump stopped that."
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testified under oath before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee last month that Iran’s nuclear weapons program had been “obliterated” by US-led airstrikes that were launched last year, and that there “has been no effort since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability."
After lying about Iran's nuclear weapons program, Scalise pivoted to making more false claims about the economy.
"So if you look across the board, we are lowering inflation, interest rates are starting to come down," he said. "They're not where we want them to be, by the way, we have a lot of work to do, but do you want to go back to the days when interest rates were in double digits?"
Inflation has been going up in recent months, not declining. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday released data showing that the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose to 3.2% in March, the highest level since November 2023.
In 2024, Trump campaigned on immediately ending inflation in the US economy, going so far as to promise grocery prices would fall beginning on his first day in office.
