President Donald Trump's Secretary of Energy Chris Wright got more of a grilling than many might expect on Fox News Thursday evening.
Wright emphasized the administration is committed to bringing national average gas prices down to $3 a gallon — but struggled to answer any basic follow-up questions.
"If this continues, this back and forth with Iran, what does that price look like as we head into the fall?" asked anchor Bret Baier.
"I have no clairvoyance," said Wright, claiming gas prices were worse under President Joe Biden, when in fact the current national average is over 50 cents a gallon higher than the average throughout Biden's term. "So the goal of the Trump administration is to get this back down toward $3, and we absolutely will get there. The question is just the timing of that. And I think we’ll continue to see increased flows of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz."
"Mr. Secretary, you can concede, can't you, that the U.S. doesn't have total control over the Strait of Hormuz?" Baier asked later in the segment.
"Are they causing some difficulties for their neighbors and the world economy? Absolutely," said Wright. "But their ability to cause difficulties are declining."
"That does not sound like total control," said Baier.
The whole exchange earned scorn from commenters on social media.
"Everything energy, especially gas prices, is so bad that even Fox is giving it serious coverage," wrote Democratic strategist Josh Dorner. "Flummoxing the Energy Sec, Bret Baier simply asks him about his previous statements."
"Well, Bret, if you don't consider the Iranian mines, and their drones, and their ships-oh, and their tolls-then absolutely, the United States has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. Total. Control," wrote worker's compensation attorney Adam Cohen.
"Always remember, Fox News paid out $787 million for spreading lies about the 2020 election," wrote Center for Economic and Policy Research senior economist Dean Baker.