‘No, We Haven’t’: Chris Wright Fires Back When Asked If Trump Admin Let Americans Down At Pump
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pushed back Sunday when CNN host Dana Bash asked whether the Trump administration has let Americans down on gas prices during the Iran war.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright pushed back Sunday when CNN host Dana Bash asked whether the Trump administration has let Americans down on gas prices during the Iran war.
Bash pressed Wright on “State of the Union” about President Donald Trump’s move on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, then turned to prices at the pump with the midterm elections two weeks away. She also reminded the secretary of her comments to her in March — about a week after the war began — when he predicted that the heightened wartime gas costs would come down in “weeks, not months.”
“Americans are still facing record prices at the pump. Has the administration let Americans down?” the CNN host asked Wright on Sunday, after reminding viewers of his March comments.
“No, we haven’t,” Wright fired back, pointing to the Iranian regime. “Are you comfortable with a nuclear-armed Iranian regime that’s in power right now? I don’t think anyone is comfortable with that.”
Asked whether he is comfortable with where gas prices are now, Wright said, “No, of course I’m not comfortable, but I’m happy they’re coming down. They’ve gone down the last few weeks, as have diesel prices, and they will continue to come down.”
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He also faulted “Democratic policies that at the state level and federal level for 15 years have been focused on raising energy prices.”
The national average for regular gasoline was about $4.30 a gallon Sunday, down from about $4.47 a month earlier, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). Diesel averaged about $6.32, down from about $6.45 a month earlier. By contrast, the national average gas price was $2.98 and the diesel price was $3.76, days before the war broke out, per AAA data.
Bash also asked Wright about Trump’s Friday executive order waiving Russian sanctions and tariffs that were required under the Lindsey Graham Act, that the president had signed into law a month earlier.
“Mr. Secretary, I do want to get back to the original question I asked, which is about the Lindsey Graham Act, economic sanctions on Russia, separate and apart from this diesel deal that you’re talking about. Why did the president do that?” the CNN host asked.
“Lindsey Graham Act is not about economic sanctions on Russia. It’s about economic sanctions on countries that trade with Russia,” Wright responded, naming China and India as the two that matter. Russia, China, India and Iran are all full members of the 11-nation BRICS alliance.
The secretary said Trump did not end the sanctions and has only suspended their enforcement. “Those powers are all still there for him to be used at the appropriate time,” he added.
Earlier in the interview, Wright said the main sanctions on Russia remain in place and that Trump’s waiver covers only Russian diesel exports, which he tied to a worldwide diesel shortage.
The Russian sanctions law was named in honor of late former South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a prominent foreign policy hawk, who died in July. The bipartisan legislation had garnered praise from hawkish members of Congress across both parties but criticism from some members associated with the America First movement.
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