‘We’re more insulated than other countries’: Rubio says US is ‘very fortunate’ as gas prices spike to highest in four years Marco Rubio defended spiking gas prices in the US. As we noted earlier, the average cost for a gallon of gasoline sits around $4.50 –the highest in four years.
The secretary of state said that other countries are suffering “big time” and the US is in a “very fortunate” position, despite the hike in fuel prices.
“We’ve been insulated to some degree,” Rubio added. “Even though that’s not welcome news to Americans that are paying more at the pump, no doubt about it … there are people that we’re predicting would be much higher at this point, but we’re not taking that for granted.”
Rubio also noted that if Iran had a nuclear weapon and decided to close the strait of Hormuz, he projected – without citing evidence – that gas prices would be around $8 or $9 a gallon.
“A nuclear armed Iran could do whatever the hell they want with the strait, and there’s nothing anyone would be able to do about it,” he said.
Rubio did not give a clear answer when probed about how much closer the US is in getting rid of Iran’s nuclear weapon capabilities.
“I think the president’s been clear that part of the negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens to this material that’s buried deep somewhere that they have still have access to if they ever wanted to dig it out,” the secretary of state said. “I don’t want to endanger the negotiations, but suffice it to say the president and this entire team is aware of the centrality of that question, and that will have to be addressed one way or the other.”