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CNN Host Humiliates MAGA Rep With Simple Question
The MAGA lawmaker found himself running out of excuses.
A MAGA lawmaker was forced to confront a glaring hole in his attacks on Democrats over rising gas prices during a grilling on CNN.
Rep. Mike Lawler faced the grilling on News Central on Wednesday, less than a week before his tight race against Democrat Cait Conley for New York’s 17th District.
Lawler has claimed that high gas prices in New York stem from state policies, climate laws, and federal limitations, but during his appearance on the show, he was challenged on the impact of President Donald Trump’s war with Iran.
“You’re talking about energy prices, gas prices, and the changes in them,” Berman said from CNN’s studio, pointing at a graph on a screen.
“This is where gas prices changed over the last year, at the start of the Iran war. Before the Iran war, the national price for a gallon of gas was 2.98. I just looked this morning. It’s 4:24 this morning. Did Kathy Hochul start the war with Iran?”
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Lawler, who has repeatedly tried to blame Gov. Kathy Hochul, dodged the question.
“John, when you’re talking about energy prices, it’s not just gasoline. It is utilities,” Lawler replied. “For instance, in New York, people pay $800 for delivery charges because we’re importing gas from Western Canada. We should be, uh, extracting natural gas in New York where we have an abundance of it in the southern tier.”
Berman then cut into his answer, repeating the half-sentence “how much of a role...” four times before finally getting Lawler to stop talking.
“How much of a role does the war in Iran have on gas prices in New York state as of this morning?” he asked.
Lawler was forced to concede. “There’s no question the war in Iran has had an impact on global oil markets, but Democrats are the ones that want to eliminate oil and gas production in America,” he said.
The Daily Beast has contacted Lawler’s team for comment.
The exchange challenged Lawler’s repeated efforts to pin rising energy costs on Hochul. His team has published a series of press releases targeting the governor, including one headlined “Lawler Slams Hochul’s Energy Policies as PSC Approves Central Hudson Rate Hikes.”
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