House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was corrected by a network host during a live CNBC interview on Thursday after citing inaccurate figures for the national average cost of gasoline.
Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Jeffries was speaking against President Donald Trump’s administration and the ongoing conflict with Iran when he stated that the national average gas price sat at $4.20.
“First of all, the price of oil should never have skyrocketed to begin with. That’s number one,” Jeffries said during the broadcast. “Number two, perhaps even more importantly, prior to this reckless and costly war of choice being launched by Donald Trump, the price of gasoline was $2.98. Right now, it is $4.20. That’s the average price, right now, as of today.”
Host Joe Kernen immediately interjected to correct the lawmaker.
“It’s under 4,” Kernen said.
“I can look,” Jeffries replied.
While Jeffries continued speaking, CNBC broadcast an on-screen graphic displaying the latest data from AAA, which showed the national average actually stood at $3.93 as of June 24.
“There’s the national average, Hakeem. It’s $3.93 today, the national average,” Kernen told Jeffries. “It’s not $4.20. We got it up.”
Jeffries responded by arguing that the numbers had shifted rapidly overnight.
“The national average was $4.20 as of yesterday. This morning it’s $3.93,” Jeffries said. “That’s still much higher than the $2.98, and that has an impact on working-class, on middle-class Americans.”
AAA data shows the national average on June 25, the day of the interview, was $3.90, while the $3.93 average referenced by Kernen was recorded the day prior. The average also sat at $3.93 on June 23.
While fuel prices did surpass the $4.00 mark in February following initial military strikes against Iran—surpassing $4.50 a month ago—they have been steadily declining. The national average officially dropped below $4.00 on June 18 as peace talks began.
“That’s only part of the puzzle,” Jeffries said. “Housing costs are too high, grocery bills are too, utility bills are too high, health care costs are too, child care costs too high. People are clearly struggling. And that’s what public sentiment shows, unequivocally. And Donald Trump has failed to solve that challenge, and we are going to address it decisively.”
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