In what seemed to be a mildly heated exchange on CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight with CNN commentator and former Ohio Governor John Kasich Monday night, Lemon demonstrated his aggressive ignorance of how economics works as he angrily argued that increasing the supply of oil wouldn’t bring down prices. “What you’re saying is not right,” he shouted at Kasich.
The discussion centered on energy and gas, the two on opposing sides. Throughout the discussion, voices were raised, interrupting occurred, and in the end, Kasich tirelessly stated, “We just disagree on this.”
Kasich explained that in this time of hardship for the American people more things need to be done; his solutions included Biden meeting with “executives here and trying to open some pipelines. Reduce some regulations. Do some drilling... We’ve got oil in this country that we are not producing.” But above all, the former governor stated that what Biden needs to do is “take a chapter from Bill Clinton and tell us that he feels- he feels our pain.”
Lemon, on the other hand, could not deny this more and showed he didn’t know how supply and demand works. “Well, more pipelines, that’s not going to- that’s not going to- but more pipelines are not going to drop the price of oil.” He continued later saying, “That’s not going to lower the price of gasoline because we’re not in an energy shortage, we’re not in an energy crunch. The prices are just high.”
Wired, Washington Post, National Review, and CNBC have all reported within the last six months about the U.S. entering a new energy crisis, but leave it to Lemon to deny.
For over four minutes this dialogue went on, back and forth, both cutting into each other just to make their ultimate point known. Lemon tried to move on, but Kasich was persistent and brought up the facts, pointing to Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia to beg them to produce more oil (which Lemon claimed wasn’t part of the trip):
LEMON: But that's not what you are saying, it's not going to drop the price of gasoline. It's just not -- that's just not how it works.
KASICH: Let me, you know why he is over there? Do you know what he was doing over there in Saudi Arabia?
LEMON: He wants them to drop the price of oil, not to increase.
KASICH: No. He wants them to produce more!
LEMON: OK.
KASICH: He is saying produce more. We have a supply problem, Don, that's what we have.
LEMON: We're not in an energy shortage.
KASICH: We can argue about this all day long.
Lemon’s first frantic attempt to pivot away from getting schooled on the issue involved CNN’s favorite topic. “Let's talk about January 6, because we are not in an energy shortage. I'm sorry. That's not, what you are saying is not right,” he told Kasich.
But even before the discussion about energy started, Lemon struggled to defend the President from his terrible poll numbers, bolding and declaring that the numbers may “require a leadership change.”
From both a political and energy standpoint, the two can agree a change needs to be made, and Kasich made that clear: “Look, the fact to the matter is, they’ve shut down pipelines, they’ve harassed processors, they have overregulated.”
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CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight
07/18/22
10:41:41 p.m. Eastern
LEMON: President Biden is back in U.S. after his Middle East tour. Here at home the President is facing widespread frustration over his job performance and the state of the country. Here it is, folks.
CNN's new poll finds only 38 percent of Americans approve of the job Biden is doing as President. And eight in ten Americans say things are going badly.
To dig in to those numbers, CNN's senior commentator, John Kasich is here. Hello, John. Good evening.
JOHN KASICH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hello, Don. Thank you.
LEMON: The numbers are not good, especially for top issues for voters. Seven in 10 Americans don't approve of the President's handling of economy. And that is going to be a major issue in both the midterms and 2024.
KASICH: Yes. I mean, in his -- the poll about his -- how they feel he's doing with the economy is worse than his overall approval. It's in the low 30s. And, Don, look, I mean, it's always the pocketbook. That's what always matters. And in this case, you know what people are paying to get gasoline at the pump. They go to the store, prices are up.
I think it's particularly hurting people who, you know, don't have a lot. These blue-collar folks are having a hard time making ends meet and they are very unhappy. And one recommendation I would make to Joe Biden is he needs to take a chapter from Bill Clinton and tell us that he feels -- he feels our pain.
And you know, sometimes he says, well, things are going great, or things are going well, they're on the right track, well they're not on the right track. He needs to get down with everybody else and sit there and say, look, I got it, I get it. And we are going to -- we are going to work harder. We are going to bring these prices down. And all that. And we don't hear that from him.
That's what he really needs to do. And people kind of like him personally, but he is not showing the kind of compassion about this problem with the economy that I think he should be.
LEMON: When you got --
KASICH: And he's got to pay for it.
LEMON: When you've got 79 percent of Americans thinking things are going badly, I mean, that's going to -- I think that requires a leadership change as you said. Look, I don't know if your answers are right. But how can the country get back on track, do you think?
KASICH: Well, I think if you, first of all, let's just take energy. And you know, he is over there in the Middle East asking these countries to try to produce more oil. Well, he ought to be meeting with executives here and trying to open some pipelines. Reduce some regulations. Do some drilling. You can't be over there telling them to produce more oil when we're not -- when we've got oil in this country that we are not producing. And in terms of inflation --
LEMON: Well, more pipelines, that's not going to -- that's not going to -- but more pipelines are not going to drop the price of oil.
KASICH: It's processing, look Don, it’s processing, it's pipelines, and it's committing that we are not going to have such regulatory stranglehold that companies are not going to invest. Right now, they're sitting on the sidelines. They say we don't know with would happen tomorrow.
Don, I'm just telling you what I hear out here. And if we had more supply -- and part of the reason why prices have come down is because they've released some oil from that reserve. But markets live on hope. Markets response on hope. And to say that, you know, we are not going to keep spending all this money. We are going to look for ways to save money. I mean, those are the kind of things, and by the way, I'm going to go to a store and I'm going to meet with some people and I'm going to look at these prices and I'm going to tell them I get it and we are working on it.
LEMON: Yeah.
KASICH: I think we need more of that.
LEMON: Listen.
KASICH: He's going to salvage himself. But they're going to get clobbered in the House. Senate is a little different because the Senate candidates, a couple of these Republican candidates for the United States Senate are just not good candidates. And they could lose, they could lose, and the Democrats could hang on. But in the House, it's going to be Republican.
LEMON: Look -- look, what you think the fixes are, I’ll grant you that. But having more, you said, more oil flow or gas flow, or opening some of the pipelines --
KASICH: Right.
LEMON: -- studies have shown that does not, that does not lower the price of oil. Or lower the price of gas, I should say, of gasoline. That's not going to lower the price of gasoline because we're not in an energy shortage, we're not in an energy crunch. The prices are just high. So, that has nothing to do with the amount of that is flowing into the country.
KASICH: Don, Don, no -- look, the fact to the matter is, they’ve shut down pipelines, they've harassed processors, they have over regulated, and they're not saying that we are going to increase domestic supply. And the reason why they are saying that is because they don't want --
LEMON: Domestic supply has nothing to do with the price of it, John. It's all I'm saying.
KASICH: Don, if people don't -- if they don't have the supply, then the prices go up. I'm sorry, that's just a fact.
LEMON: Ok, all right, let's talk about --
KASICH: It's like saying we can print -- wait --
LEMON: People aren't waiting in gas lines because we don't have gas.
KASICH: We can print money forever if we don't have inflation.
LEMON: That's not the whole point of it. I agree with you, with everything else you said. But just -- we don't have an energy shortage. We don't have a gas shortage. We have a price -- the prices are high. And by increasing the flow of gasoline --
KASICH: Don, gasoline comes from oil.
LEMON: I understand that, John.
KASICH: It gets refined.
LEMON: But that's not what you are saying, it's not going to drop the price of gasoline. It's just not -- that's just not how it works.
KASICH: Let me, you know why he is over there? Do you know what he was doing over there in Saudi Arabia?
LEMON: He wants them to drop the price of oil, not to increase.
KASICH: No. He wants them to produce more.
LEMON: OK.
KASICH: He is saying produce more. We have a supply problem, Don, that's what we have.
LEMON: We're not in an energy shortage.
KASICH: We can argue about this all day long.
LEMON: OK. Let's talk about January 6, because we are not in an energy shortage. I'm sorry. That's not, what you are saying is not right.
KASICH: OK. Well, we just disagree on this.
LEMON: So, we don't disagree, what you are saying is not right. We're not in an energy shortage.
KASICH: Don, when he is over --
LEMON: And you can't -- you cannot open another pipeline that's going to lower the price of gas.
KASICH: -- at Saudi Arabia asking (Inaudible), he, Don -- Don, he was --
LEMON: That is not what's happening right now. This is not 1970 with Jimmy Carter.
KASICH: Don, Don, let me tell you, energy companies today are on the sidelines, they are not making the investments in production right now. He was in Saudi Arabia asking them to increase the amount of supply in the country. That's what he was -- in the world, that's was he was doing.
LEMON: That's not going to have anything to do with the price of gas today.
KASICH: OK.
