CNN host John Berman on Wednesday tried to have a serious discussion with Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) about the economic impact of the Iran war, but couldn’t help but laugh between clips of President Donald Trump contradicting himself on the matter — and claiming he didn’t.
“Congressman, the president has a new interview out this morning where he’s talking about the possible economic impact of the war on Iran,” Berman told Sessions during his “News Central” appearance. “I want you to listen to what he says now, listen.”
Berman went on to play a clip from the new Fox News interview in which host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if he expects “a hit” to the economy as a result of his war, which notably led Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes.
“Well, look, there’s a hit because, you know, we go through it for whatever it is, six weeks,” Trump said Wednesday. “There’s going to be a hit, but it’s going to recover, I think, fully. Somehow they misquoted me. I think oil will be down to the levels it was.”
He added, “You know, they said I expect oil to be high at the midterms. I don’t expect that.”
Except Trump claimed otherwise during a previous interview — conducted by the same Fox News anchor — only three days earlier. Berman tried hard to keep a straight face after the clip concluded, but ultimately erupted into a guffaw.
“OK, he says he was misquoted, congressman,” Berman told Sessions before laughing on the air. “It turns out it was an interview, out loud, with the same Fox anchor, which I want to play for you right now, where he says oil prices could be higher. Listen.”
The damning clip showed Bartiromo on Sunday ask Trump he believes the price of oil and gas will be lower before the midterms in November. The president offered a rather lacking, “I hope so. I mean, I think so. It could be. It could, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher.”
Fox News flashed the national average gas price on the screen during that interview, which hit $4.108 per gallon as of Wednesday, according to AAA. That figure has increased by around 51 cents from a month ago, when the average price was at $3.598 per gallon.
Berman was ultimately most concerned Wednesday about the MAGA leader’s remarks.
“So again, to Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, he said maybe ‘the same’ or ‘a little bit higher,’” said Berman through yet more laughter. “Today he said definitely lower and I was misquoted when I said they could be higher. What do you think about his claims about being misquoted?”
Sessions, who welcomed Trump’s endorsement for reelection last year, was disinterested.
He argued the “big issue” currently facing Americans is that “the United States is involved in a high-stakes tussle with the Iranians” and that “we are going to be in a challenge” until the U.S. “can undo the problems that we have” there.
