'That dog ain't gonna hunt': GOP strategist warns Jim Jordan's spin won't fly with voters

A Republican strategist doubted that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) would be able to settle down voters upset with high gas prices with the latest GOP talking point.

After Jordan told CNN on Thursday night that gas prices don't matter as much as Iran's nuclear capabilities, Republican strategist Melik Abdul reacted to the clip by saying "that dog ain't gonna hunt."

Republicans "can continue to say that over and over again." Abdul warned that "how people feel is how they vote," and voters are more worried about the price at the gas pump.

"They're going to go to the polls, not on Iran. They're going to go to the polls on gas prices, food prices, and all of these other things," Abdul explained. "Republicans have to understand it doesn't matter what's happening in Iran. It doesn't matter what you're doing with DEI and suing all of these schools. People care about their pocketbooks."

The exchange comes amid mounting Republican anxiety over the political fallout from the Iran war, which has pushed average U.S. gas prices above $4.50 per gallon, up from under $3 before the conflict began in February. Trump campaigned in 2024 on bringing gas prices below $2 a gallon.

During that same interview, CNN's Kaitlan Collins reminded Jordan he had been "critical when gas was $3.07, when President Biden was in office" and asked, "If you thought that was bad, what is $4.53?"

Jordan replied that "gas prices were coming down until we had to deal with this situation" in Iran, before adding, "But you know, that's life, that's dealing with the world and the world we live in."

When Collins pressed him on Trump's 2024 campaign promise to bring gas prices under $2 a gallon, Jordan said, "Hopefully, we'll get there soon. I want — I want gas prices low, too. I mean, we all want gas prices low. Who doesn't, for goodness sake?"

Moments later, when Collins repeated his "that's life" line back to him, Jordan tried to walk it back, telling her, "Those are your words, not mine" — even though he had said exactly that less than a minute earlier.