Did inflation "since Biden and Kamala took over" cause a New York City barbershop owner to experience unusually high electric bills, as a post on social media says? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for Con Edison, the utility company that provides power to New York City residents, told Lead Stories the barber's recent bill was in error and that the company has "been in communication with the customer to resolve it." Javier Rodriguez, whose Bronx barbershop was visited by former President Donald Trump, told Trump during the visit that his electric bills had gone from $2,100 to $15,000 per month. Rodriguez confirmed for Lead Stories the utility company error, and said he was "definitely not blaming any administration for this issue."
The claim appeared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 21, 2024, (archived here). The post said:
A Bronx barber tells Trump that his energy bills went from $2,100 to $15,000 since Biden and Kamala took over. Trump's response: "WHAT??"
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X platform screenshot taken on Wed Oct 23 14:08:42 2024 UTC)
On October 17, 2024, as the New York Post reported, Trump visited Knockout Barber in the Bronx, where he held a campaign event answering questions from voters. One of them was shop owner Javier Rodriguez. The event itself was reported on October 21, 2024, on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" talk show.
During an exchange with Trump, viewable at 06:10 on the "Fox & Friends" video, Rodriguez said, "I've been paying $2,100 since I first opened up. In the last seven months, it has shot up to $15,000."
"What?" Trump responded. He went on to imply that energy bills would be lower if he is re-elected.
But Lead Stories learned Rodriguez' higher electricity bills have nothing to do with inflation or differences in energy policy.
Lead Stories contacted the utility that provides electricity to the area, Con Edison. According to Jamie McShane, director of media relations at Con Edison (archived here), the $15,000 bill was inaccurate.
"We're aware of this billing issue and have been in communication with the customer to resolve it," McShane wrote in an October 23, 2024, email to Lead Stories.
When Lead Stories asked if it was a billing error not related to inflation, McShane wrote back: "correct."
Lead Stories also contacted Rodriguez, who agreed to talk.
"It's definitely an error on their end," the barbershop owner said, referring to Con Edison, in a phone interview on October 23, 2024. Rodriguez said the problem was identified months earlier, but it took his question to Trump to get Con Edison to finally resolve it.
Rodriquez rejected the post on X that implied he blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for his high power bills.
Rodriquez said:
That is a total lie. That is not the facts. I'm definitely not blaming any administration for this issue.
New York Times reporter Ashley Southall was the first to report on the billing error situation on her X account on October 22, 2024.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims concerning the 2024 U.S. presidential election can be found here.
