Conservative Political Action Conference Chair Matt Schlapp told Newsmax on Tuesday the current economic issues arising from the Iran conflict don't present much concern when looking at November's midterm elections.
Schlapp told Newsmax's "Bianca Across the Nation," "Politics is about tomorrow and not about yesterday. A lot of us who love history want to talk about yesterday. But voters vote on their present circumstance. And how does it look tomorrow?"
For that reason, Schlapp said, gas price hikes resulting from the Iran conflict should be short term and therefore won't be an election issue. "So, I agree with [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent that some short-term energy spikes, as long as they go away, will be forgiven by voters," said Schlapp.
Schlapp also said the energy issues highlighted by the Iran conflict are just one aspect of broader global political upheaval driven by President Donald Trump. "Because President Trump has said for his whole political career, but most recently in this 2.0 version of Trump, drill, baby, drill. Mine, baby, mine."
The CPAC chairman pointed to the broader picture, which he said will become more apparent in the coming months. "We've got to use all these resources. [Trump has] been hostile towards all the green energy fantasies."
Schlapp said it has reached the point where some European nations have realized they went down the wrong road on energy. "Europe is even realizing that net zero has been a catastrophe for their energy needs," he said.
"And they're very vulnerable to countries that don't want to be vulnerable because they're not taking advantage of their own assets, as President Trump pointed out with his Truth [Social] post on what the U.K., what Great Britain isn't doing to drill for its own oil."
"And so the voters understand," said Schlapp, "that the president is doing everything possible to keep those prices low."
Schlapp conceded the full picture has yet to emerge. "But it is a fair point," he said, "to say that if this continues, it becomes a problem for them. I'm hopeful that we get this resolved in a way where the entire world, including Europe, and America, will have plentiful fossil fuel resources."
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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