Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was called out after he encouraged Americans to take "road trips" as gas prices continue to rise as a result of President Donald Trump's war in Iran.
Republicans have faced pressure from constituents nationwide to address the rising cost of living, but Americans are feeling pain at the pump now that the Iran war, which the Trump administration kicked off in late February, has prompted a spike in gas prices.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline has reached $4.520, according to the American Automobile Association, up from $4.483 just a week earlier. Diesel prices also climbed nearly 2 cents to $5.674 per gallon, putting them within roughly 14 cents of a record high, though still about $2.13 lower than they were a year ago.
Speaking at an event in Philadelphia on Thursday, Duffy was asked by reporters about average gasoline prices climbing above $4.50 a gallon. In response, he defended Trump’s handling of the war and argued that fuel costs were still not high enough to discourage Americans from taking road trips.
He said:
"We live in a very different world, and I just don't think we've had other presidents who've been willing to see the threat and address the threat of Iran, so, opens up, I think you're going to see prices come down immediately."
"You saw yesterday energy prices came down below $100 a barrel. I think we're at $93 this morning – don't quote me on that, I think we were at $92, $93 for Brent crude. So we're in a good place."
When pressed on when Americans might begin seeing lower energy prices reflected at the gas pump, particularly as the country heads into the summer road-trip season, he replied:
“We want to encourage all Americans to take a road trip, whether it be two hours or two days, to see your country. It’s interesting the way gas stations work. When prices go up per barrel, you see that the next day, the prices at the pump goes up, and as prices go down, it takes a bit longer to ricochet through lower prices at the pump."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
That doesn't make financial sense for Americans already feeling the economic crunch—and Duffy was criticized for his tone-deaf remarks.
His remarks came days before the trailer for The Great American Road Trip—Duffy's equally tone-deaf new reality show with his family traveling the United States to mark its 250th anniversary—went live.
And they came several months after he made headlines for speaking out about air travel etiquette and not wearing pajamas or taking your shoes off on an airplane.
Duffy, who appeared at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, to discuss his efforts to “restore courtesy and class to air travel," argued that air travel would be a better experience for all if people took more pride in their appearance on flights.
He said he "would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourages us to maybe behave a little better." He said people shouldn't wear slippers or pajamas or take their shoes off on airplanes in order to be "cognizant and courteous" to others around them.
However, once clips of his remarks went viral, critics pointed out that none of his suggestions actually address the problems surrounding travel delays and airport security that passengers are actually concerned about.
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