Mike Pence Appears To Make Obvious Blunder In Video Promoting Energy Plan

Former Vice President and 2024 presidential candidate Mike Pence appeared to make an obvious mistake in a new promotional video explaining his views on energy policy released Tuesday.

The video shows Pence filling up a red pickup truck at a gas station as he slams the Biden administration’s energy policies and promotes his own vision that he would enact if elected president next November. However, he does not actually pump any gas at all, merely removing the nozzle from its holster and sticking it into the gas tank without selecting a fuel grade or applying pressure to the trigger that would release gas flow into the vehicle, the footage appears to show.

“Remember $2-a-gallon gas?,” Pence asks as he inserts the nozzle into the tank. “I do. And then Joe Biden became president of the United States and launched his war on energy.”

“Since that time, gasoline prices are up 60%, electricity prices are up 25%,” Pence continued. “Joe Biden’s war on energy is causing real hardship for working families, small businesses and family farms.”

As Pence continues to address the camera, the gasoline pump can be heard making a beeping noise, which typically prompts the user to select a fuel grade before beginning to fill up. Pence also does not pretend to pull the trigger on the handle, which would start the flow of gasoline if he had selected a type of fuel and paid for gas.

The video promoted the release of the “Pence energy plan,” which specifies that he would unclog permitting delays, increase refining capacity, replenish the strategic petroleum reserve, and access America’s rare earth mineral reserves if elected to the presidency in the 2024 race, according to the plan’s one-pager summary.

Pence is currently polling at around 5% in the Republican primary field and will be eligible to participate in the first Republican primary debate later in August, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Representatives for Pence did not respond to a request for comment.