PoliticsKaitlan Collins Ridicules Trump Loyalist With His Own Words on Gas Prices
Kaitlan Collins used Jim Jordan's own words when he struggled to defend rising gas prices under Donald Trump.
May 15 2026, Published 2:34 p.m. ET
Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan accidentally denied his own words during a tense live interview on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
The Thursday, May 14, exchange went viral after Jordan attempted to shrug off skyrocketing national average gas prices. Prices have climbed to $4.53 a gallon under the Trump administration amid an ongoing war with Iran.
Collins initiated the pushback by airing a 2022 clip of Jordan forcefully condemning the Biden administration when gas hit $3.07 a gallon.
The two sparred on Collins' show.
She asked him how he could square his past fury with today’s significantly higher prices.
Jordan deflected, defending the current costs as a necessary sacrifice to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
When Collins reminded him of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to bring gas prices under $2.00 a gallon, Jordan replied, "Well, gas prices were coming down until we had to deal with this situation, but you know, that’s life, that’s dealing with the world and the world we live in.”
The interview turned contentious.
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The interview turned contentious when Collins challenged Jordan on whether telling struggling families "that's life" justifies the surge to $4.53 a gallon.
Jordan immediately attempted to deny using the phrase before quickly trying to reframe his statement to mean that unexpected global threats sometimes require sacrifice.
“But if someone’s listening to you and they were paying $2.98 a gallon for gas before the war started and now they’re paying $4.53, I mean, saying ‘that’s life’ might not make them feel better,” Collins said.
“Those are your words, those are your words, not mine,” Jordan replied.
The Republican tried to deflect during the conversation.
Collins quickly reminded the devout Trump loyalist, “You said ‘that’s life’ just now.”
The Ohio Republican — who former wrestlers have repeatedly accused of knowing about widespread sexual abuse at Ohio State University when he was an assistant coach there in the late 1980s and 1990s, but he has continuously and vehemently denied having any knowledge of the incidents — futilely tried to deflect, replying, “We all want gas prices low — who doesn’t, for goodness’ sake? — but we also don’t want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.”
National gas prices have surged by roughly 50 percent since the start of 2026.
Jordan continued to fumble, saying, "No, I’m not saying ‘that’s life’ like ... I’m saying life sometimes throws things at you that you didn’t anticipate and you have to deal with it, and you want a commander-in-chief who will deal with it and deal with it in a way that is focused on the safety of the people he was elected to serve and protect."
National gas prices have surged by roughly 50 percent since the start of 2026, driven directly by the military conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran.
In response, Iran blocked maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, choking off 20 percent of the world's global oil supply and causing crude oil prices to catapult above $100 a barrel.
