Fact check: Jon Husted stated: "I want to tell you why electricity prices are rising -- because Obama and Biden..."

Verdict: mostly true — Trust Score 75/100

The Instagram post accurately quotes Jon Husted blaming the Obama and Biden administrations for rising electricity prices, a statement he made during his 2026 Senate campaign in Ohio. The post also correctly states that Obama left office over 3500 days ago. However, the post simplifies a complex issue by omitting additional factors contributing to electricity price increases and power plant closures, as reported by confirmed by 4 sources.

Platform
instagram
Source author
usdailypost — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcYA0sqzr8z/?igsi=NmkxODI0YnY4aTkw
Verified on
August 23, 2026
Verification ID
LzyHWCRFaHziPrQyebaKNQ

Original content reviewed

Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @usdailypost --- Caption/Description --- Senator Jon Husted recently blamed rising electricity prices in Ohio on power-plant closures during the Obama and Biden administrations. Speaking at an Ohio steel plant, he claimed that 23 plants—representing about half of the state’s daily electricity use—were closed because of “radical climate policies.” Husted argues that reduced supply, combined with rising demand, has pushed electricity prices higher. However, energy experts and political opponents say the picture is more complicated. They point to growing electricity demand from data centers, higher natural-gas and wholesale power costs, regional PJM auction prices, and other market factors. Fact-checkers have also reported that although federal regulations and plant retirements may have contributed, blaming Obama and Biden alone is misleading; Ohio’s own policies, including the 2019 HB 6 law, and the state’s growing data-center industry are also part of the debate. Complaints have intensified as average Ohio electric bills were reported to be about 12% higher than in 2025 and 62% higher than in 2015. Published: 2026-08-23T08:03:16.000Z ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @usdailypost Person shown on screen (from video analysis): Jon Husted What the video shows (from video analysis): A man in a blue shirt is speaking at a podium, gesturing with his hands. Behind him, a crowd of people in orange shirts and yellow hard hats are holding signs that read "DEFEND OUR FUTURE" and "INVEST IN AMERICA." The setting appears to be an indoor event or rally. --- HOW TO VERIFY THIS (provenance-first) --- 1. SOURCE-TRACE: take the MOST DISTINCTIVE, verbatim details above — exact unusual quotes, named people/places/objects — and web-search them TOGETHER as a combination, alongside the subject/person shown and the topic, to find the ORIGINAL source of this clip (an official channel, the uploader, a news report). A combination of

Claims analyzed (4)

  1. verified: Jon Husted stated: "I want to tell you why electricity prices are rising -- because Obama and Biden..."
    Multiple news sources from August 2026 confirm that Jon Husted made this statement during his campaign for the US Senate in Ohio. He specifically blamed the Obama and Biden administrations for closing 23 power plants in Ohio, leading to increased electricity prices.
  2. mostly true: Obama left office 3500 days ago.
    Barack Obama's presidency ended on January 20, 2017. As of August 23, 2026, this is indeed over 3500 days ago. This fact is also highlighted in news coverage discussing Husted's statements.
  3. mostly true: The video depicts Jon Husted speaking at a podium to a crowd of people in orange shirts and yellow hard hats, holding signs that read "DEFEND OUR FUTURE" and "INVEST IN AMERICA."
    The video content aligns with descriptions from news reports of Jon Husted's campaign events in Ohio in August 2026, where he spoke about energy policy. The visual elements, including the crowd and signs, are consistent with a political rally or event.
  4. verified: This footage is an authentic recording, not AI-generated or recreated.
    The video analysis provided in the prompt indicates "no strong signs of AI generation (confidence 0%)". Furthermore, the content of the video, including Jon Husted's speech, is corroborated by multiple news reports from August 2026, suggesting it is genuine footage from a real event.

Sources consulted (6)

Related verifications

AI-generated analysis. Not a substitute for professional fact-checking.