Republican Senator Claims Surging Gas Prices Are a Good Sign, Actually

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall has doubled down on his delusional pitch for voters to get excited about higher gas prices.

Speaking to CNN Tuesday evening, Marshall was asked if he actually expected his constituents to buy into his earlier claim that national security was “more important than your pocketbook.”

Marshall insisted that Kansans understood the “long game,” and that things could be a lot worse if the United States had not attacked Iran.

“I would argue that if Iran ever had nuclear weapons, and then they controlled the Strait of Hormuz, that gasoline would be $10 a gallon,” Marshall said. “The good news, what gas in America right now is $3.14 a gallon on average, something—oh no, $4.14, forgive me, $4.14 a gallon. In Europe right now it’s $7 a gallon. So, it’s not great. I’m concerned about it.”

Sen. Roger Marshall: "The good news, ah, what gas in America right now is $3.14 a gallon on averag-- no no, $4.14 a gallon, forgive me. $4.14 a gallon. In Europe right now it's $7 a gallon. So it's not great, I'm concerned about it. The good news is we're the largest oil producer… pic.twitter.com/MT4dCZEop1

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2026

Of course, experts say Iran was nowhere near having nuclear weapons. And while the country didn’t control the flow of trade through the Strait of Hormuz before, it certainly does now.

Meanwhile, the “short-term sacrifice” Marshall describes is hurting Americans—and his own party’s chances at reelection. A recent poll from CBS News/YouGov found that 51 percent of Americans found gas prices presented a significant financial hardship. At the beginning of April, Donald Trump’s approval on the economy hit a new low, and gas prices have only continued to climb.

But Marshall claimed there was an upside to paying more at the pump.

“The good news is we’re the largest oil producer in the world right now. That we’re a net exporter,” he said, as if average Americans would ever benefit from oil executives’ war profiteering. That’s sure to be a winning message for the midterm elections in November—hey, we should get this guy a regular spot on Fox News!