Fact Check 3: Gasoline prices declined under Trump, but skyrocketed under Biden
This fact should be common knowledge, 28 days away from the election, but it isn't. Why?
Also see
2024 Fact Check: Introduction - by Jon Sutz
Source
U.S. Energy Information Administration data; click link and hover over timeline to verify the data in the above infographic is accurate:
Analysis
Is it possible that the top-tier news organizations are unaware of the basic facts regarding gas prices under Trump-Pence vs Biden-Harris, as depicted in this infographic?
No. The information is available in any reputable energy research archive. They all know the reality - but they refuse to make use of it.
For example, Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz keep claiming that they are the superior candidates, because they will “bring prices down for working people,” etc. Harris repeats this claim over and over again, and yet not one major news organization I’m aware of has asked her:
“You claim you are going to bring down consumer prices, but the Biden-Harris track record is of causing consumer prices, including gasoline, to spike. How do you reconcile your claims, vs these facts — and what policies will you employ that are different than those that caused gas prices to increase so dramatically, under the Biden-Harris administration?”
Further, none have done so using a chart as simple as this one, that even a child can understand.
Just as troublingly, neither the GOP nor the Trump websites* have a tool such as this infographic to frame the reality of his record vs the Biden-Harris record, or to directly call Harris-Walz out on social media and beyond. (*September 30, 2024 archives of their websites are here and here.)
These are some of the reasons why there are so many widespread misconceptions about basic economic issues among the general population. And among new voters who were too young to drive during the Trump administration, most have little or no idea of the price spike that occurred under Biden-Harris, the policies that led to it, and how they differ from the policies that Trump-Pence employed to keep gas prices steady and affordable. When they walk into the voting booth, they will be operating not according to an understanding of basic realities, but based on whatever claims they’ve heard hundreds or thousands of times, without challenge.