Devin Nunes to Newsmax: 'You Have to Go With What Works' in Energy (Newsmax/"The Chris Salcedo Show")
By Nicole Wells | Thursday, 06 October 2022 07:17 PM EDT
Former California congressman Devin Nunes told Newsmax Thursday that Saudi Arabia doesn't see the U.S. as a "reliable partner at this point," which is why the kingdom is backing massive cuts to OPEC's oil output, and that, until green energy delivers, "you have to go with what works."
"They saw what happened, after 40-50 years of working closely with the United States of America, what the democratic socialist party did in this country, and I think the Saudis want nothing to do with it," Nunes, CEO of Trump Media & Technology Group, said during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show." "I think, if you're the Saudi Arabian government, they don't see the United States as a reliable partner at this point, so they're like, hey, we're going to do what's best for us."
Nunes said that the Democrats, and President Joe Biden specifically, were "very critical" of the Saudi regime in the past.
"There are dictators all around the world," he said. "They are bad, they do a lot of bad things, but we have had a great relationship with the Saudi kingdom for decades."
"For the Democrats to demagogue them and attack them over and over and over again, and then, all of a sudden, they decide to implement their climate hysteria [and] their worshiping of the green gods, and essentially shut down pipelines, construction for oil and gas in this country, shut down new drilling, and miraculously believe that we're going to import enough windmills and solar panels from China to solve this problem," Nunes continued. "Then, when it doesn't work, then you run back over to Saudi Arabia."
In Nunes's home state of California, he said the Democrats' green energy agenda isn't delivering as anticipated.
"We put in so many solar panels that when the sun goes down, we don't have enough power," the Golden State resident said. "We found that out earlier this year, just a month ago or so. Plus … I think we're the highest price for electricity."
"So, since we've been investing in the so-called green energy, all that's happened is that electricity prices have tripled or quadrupled in the state of California," he continued. "I think Republicans, conservatives, have been for an all-of-the-above strategy, but it relies on what is most important and that is, until there truly is this type of green energy that works, you have to go with what works."
Elaborating on "what works," Nunes said that the U.S., which was a net exporter of energy under the Trump administration, has an oil pipeline "sitting up in Alaska that's running at 15% or 20%."
"We're not even using it, even though it's one of the largest oil reserves in the country," he said. "The Trump administration opened it up. The Biden administration closed it back down."