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Mainstream cable news and broadcast networks aired only 19 minutes over the past 75 days scrutinizing Trump's impossible pledge to cut energy prices in half

Special Programs Climate & Energy

Written by Allison Fisher

Published

Mainstream cable news and broadcast networks undercovered former President Donald Trump’s pledge to cut energy prices by 50% within one year of taking office — a plan experts have noted he would be unlikely to achieve absent a global recession. 

As CNN economic reporter Matt Egan reported: “If we see sub-$2 gasoline, it will be because of some awful things taking place in the economy.” 

The lack of coverage is particularly glaring, not only because it allows this pledge — a core tenet of Trump’s plan to bring down inflation — to go mostly unscrutinized, but also because the economy has consistently polled as a top issue for voters. 

A Media Matters analysis found that from August 14, when Trump announced the pledge at a rally in North Carolina, through October 28:

  • Combined, cable news networks CNN and MSNBC and corporate broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, and NBC – dedicated only 19 minutes to the pledge.
  • Of the networks that covered it, CNN aired the most coverage, with 13 minutes. MSNBC aired slightly more than 5 minutes, and NBC aired about a minute.
  • On broadcast, only NBC aired a segment discussing the pledge. CBS briefly mentioned it in a segment about another topic, while ABC aired no coverage of it.

Trump has pledged to cut energy prices in half repeatedly throughout his campaign at rallies and during media appearances. Along with imposing tariffs, cutting energy prices is part of his economic plan to supposedly bring down inflation and the cost of things like groceries and gas. 

Media Matters has already demonstrated on numerous occasions that many mainstream news outlets have been asleep at the wheel in describing the stakes of Trump’s economic policy proposals. This is but one more example.

  • Coverage of Trump plan to cut energy prices in half was sparse — but those that did cover it challenged its feasibility

  • By largely ignoring his pledge to cut energy prices in half, national TV news shows have largely failed to hold Trump accountable for his plan to bring down inflation.  

    Several digital and print outlets have fact-checked the feasibility of Trump’s pledge to cut energy prices in half. 

    The New York Times quoted a senior fellow from the conservative American Enterprise Institute who argued, “He doesn’t really have the tools to lower oil prices enough to cut gasoline prices in half.” 

    NRP interviewed energy expert Patrick De Haan, who pointed out that Trump’s plan would make oil production unprofitable for American companies: “And should oil prices decline to the point the president likes, it would be at a point where many oil companies are losing money on every barrel.” 

    FactCheck.org reported, “Experts we interviewed also didn’t see a way for Trump to lower energy prices for consumers by 50%.”

    And New York Times columnist Paul Krugman explained why prices were so low during Trump’s presidency, saying, “Demand for oil fell off a cliff during the worst of the pandemic, and producers weren’t just unable to find buyers for their oil.” 

    On whether Trump could bring those prices back, Krugman echoed energy experts, saying: “Trump didn’t explain exactly how he would have accomplished that, but in any case any large fall in oil prices from their current level — less than $70 a barrel — would make drilling unprofitable in major producing regions. So, bottom line: If Trump wins, will we be going back to the very low gas prices of early 2020? No — not unless we experience a global depression.”

    Most of the segments across cable news and corporate broadcasts that discussed Trump’s pledge to cut energy prices in half challenged the feasibility of the pledge.  But more time should have been dedicated to scrutinizing a pledge that was core to his economic message. 

    Three of CNN’s 7 segments included a report by Matt Egan in which he explained the unlikely conditions that would make this pledge possible. 

    For instance, on CNN This Morning Weekend, he reported: “Now this may be one promise that Trump hopes doesn't come true because analysts tell me that to get gas prices that low, demand would have to crash. And that's something that typically only happens in an economic crisis. So sure, dirt-cheap gas prices sounds great, but not if it means a global recession.”

  • From the September 7, 2024, edition of CNN This Morning Weekend

  • NBC’s Garrett Haake pointed out how limited a president's influence is on energy prices, reporting, “Independent analysts say when it comes to energy costs, even presidents are limited by the laws of economics in a global market.” He further noted that the other challenge for Trump is that the U.S. is already producing record amounts of oil and gas.

  • From the August 30, 2024, edition of NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

  • MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle also pointed to current record oil production to note the disconnect of Trump’s pledge, arguing, “His idea of how he's going to help the economy, help with inflation, he's going to slash energy and electricity prices by far more than half. But here's the thing, Sam. The U.S. right now is producing record amounts of oil.”

  • From the August 14, 2024, edition of MSNBC's The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle

  • Worth noting, any energy plan that fails to rapidly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is out of step with what the science says is needed to avoid even worse climate impacts than we are already experiencing — a fact that wasn’t emphasized in the coverage of Trump’s pledge.

  • Methodology

  • Media Matters searched transcripts in the SnapStream video database for all original programming on CNN and MSNBC as well as all original episodes of ABC’s Good Morning America, World News Tonight, and This Week; CBS’ Mornings, Evening News, and Face the Nation; and NBC’s Today, Nightly News, and Meet the Press for either of the terms “Trump” or “former president” within close proximity to any of the terms “price,” “cost,” or “bill” and within close proximity to any of the terms “gas,” “oil,” or “energy” from August 14, 2024, when GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed during a speech in North Carolina that he would cut energy prices in half, through October 28, 2024.

    We timed segments, which we defined as instances when Trump's pledge to cut energy prices in half was the stated topic of discussion or when we found significant discussion of Trump's energy pledge. We defined significant discussion as instances when two or more speakers in a multitopic segment discussed Trump’s energy pledge with one another.

    We also timed mentions, which we defined as instances when a speaker in a segment on another topic mentioned Trump’s energy pledge without another speaker engaging with the comment, and teasers, which we defined as instances when the anchor or host promoted a segment about Trump’s energy pledge scheduled to air later in the broadcast.

    We rounded all times to the nearest minute.