Maggie Haberman Knocks Trump For Putting On A ‘Front’ With This Wild Price Fantasy

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman on Friday checked President Donald Trump’s wildly inaccurate claims about where gasoline prices stand in his second term.

“There is actually a limit to how much he can keep saying that and have his own voters believe him but he right now seems to believe himself,” Haberman told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins of Trump’s boasts of falling prices.

Trump ― as part of his University of Alabama commencement address that he used to rant about politics on Thursday ― claimed that the price of gas hit $1.88 a gallon in three states.

“Can you believe it? It was at $3.50. It was at $4. We’re drilling, oh we’re drilling,” Trump told the graduating class.

The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.18, per AAA, which is $1.30 more than Trump’s figure (and $1.20 more than another number he boasted about on his Truth Social platform).

As of Friday, AAA found that Mississippi had the lowest state average for a gallon of gas at $2.66.

Collins asked Haberman whether she thinks Trump is as “unconcerned” as he appeared to be about the prospect of a recession due to his trade policies.

“No, I don’t but I think that that is the front that he is putting on,” Haberman said.

“[The administration] did get good news today in terms of the jobs front. Yes, the market numbers rebounded somewhat. You are correct that he keeps saying things about prices that just don’t comport with reality.”

The president has repeatedly boasted about gas prices being lower than $2 under his administration, claims he’s rested alongside other baseless assertions about the cost of groceries and eggs.

His recent claims at the University of Alabama arrive as he downplays the possibility of a recession sparked by his tariffs, telling “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker that such a scenario would be a “transition period.”

Haberman told Collins that she’s noticed Truth Social users replying to Trump’s claims about decreasing prices, telling the president that his figures don’t reflect those where they live.

H/T: Mediaite