A gallon of diesel in Alabama cost $6.15 this week. That's about 80% more than a year ago. Regular gas is over $4.
Tommy Tuberville thinks his state can take it.
CNN's Manu Raju asked the senator — who is running for governor of Alabama — about fuel prices driven up by Trump's war in Iran. Tuberville admitted that "obviously gas prices are high," then said they've "been high before," and that his constituents voted for Trump, AL.com reported.
"People deal with that, they know it's going to go up and down," he said.
"So they're willing to pay?" Raju asked.
"Yeah, sure they are," Tuberville said.
Who pays
The diesel figure comes from AAA's Alabama price tracker.
Doug Jones, Tuberville's Democratic opponent for governor, put a face on it. "You have shrimpers at the dock right now who cannot afford the diesel costs," Jones told AL.com. Jones has called for suspending the state gas tax. Tuberville has not.
Tuberville's answer to that was a statement: "I hope President Trump finds a way to bring this conflict to an end."
The Senate has voted 13 times on ending it
That's a strange thing to hope for from a man who has a vote on it.
The Senate has voted 13 times on resolutions to end the Iran war. Tommy Tuberville voted no on 11 of them and didn't vote on the other two — one of which, on May 19, passed 50 to 47 without him. He doesn't have to hope someone else ends the war. He could have voted to end it. He chose not to — again and again.
And it costs real money. Moody's chief economist has estimated the war cost the average American household about $1,200 in its first six months.
"Just making up stuff"
When CNN played the clip on The Source, data analyst Harry Enten could hardly believe it. "What the heck did I just hear?" he said.
"The president of the United States, his approval rating on gas prices is like 20%. And I don't just mean like 20%. It is 20%," Enten said. "He has the highest disapproval rating of all-time of any president on gas prices. And in polls where you ask the question, 'Hey, you know, is the war worth the cost?' Americans over and over again say no. The senator from Alabama is just making up stuff that is not supported by the polling data."
Blame anyone but the war
On Newsmax the same week, Tuberville pointed the finger somewhere else. He said he hoped Trump had told Ukraine's president to stop bombing Russian gas refineries. And he blamed Democrats: "The Democrats want to help zero."
The Democrats didn't start the war in Iran, and they aren't the ones who keep voting to continue it.
The pattern
Tuberville has a habit of telling Alabamians what they can live without. He called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme". Now he's telling families paying $6 a gallon for diesel that they're "willing to pay" — while voting, over and over, to keep the war that's driving the price up.
What the record shows
With diesel in Alabama up about 80% from a year ago, Tommy Tuberville told CNN his constituents are "willing to pay" higher fuel prices for Trump's Iran war: "Yeah, sure they are." He says he hopes Trump ends the war, but of the Senate's 13 votes on ending it, he voted no on 11 and missed the other two, and he has not backed a state gas tax holiday.
Source
CNN analyst mocks Tuberville for saying Alabama can 'deal' with high gas prices — AL.com, September 2026. Photo via AL.com.
