White House declines to clarify Biden's comments imploring gas stations to lower prices
The president made a similar plea with gas stations in a speech calling for a gas tax holiday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The White House declined to clarify President Biden's social media post demanding that gas stations bring down the price of gas, instead pointing Fox News to a speech the president made calling for a gas tax holiday.
"My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril," Biden posted on Twitter Saturday. "Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now."
BIDEN TWEETS DEMAND FOR GAS STATIONS TO ‘BRING PRICES DOWN,’ GETS PRAISED BY CHINESE STATE MEDIA
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Reached for comment by Fox News Sunday, the White House did not clarify what specific gas stations he was referencing or if he was referencing individual owners of gas stations. The White House also declined to comment on if the president does not believe gas stations should be allowed to make a profit and instead sell gas at cost, instead pointing Fox News to a speech Biden made earlier this year calling for a gas tax holiday. Gas stations typically make no more than 2 to 5 cents per gallon of gas they sell once their costs are factored in.
"I’ve heard plenty of explanations from companies and economists about why it normally takes time for these price reductions to reach the consumer," Biden said at the time, adding that "when the price of a barrel of oil goes up, it doesn’t make take much time for the price at the pump to go up."
PRESIDENT BIDEN SEEMS TO PRAISE HIGH GAS PRICES AS ‘INCREDIBLE TRANSITION’ AMERICANS MUST GO THROUGH
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Joe Biden. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Biden made a similar appeal at the time as well, telling gas stations to "bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product."
The president's tweet was also mocked by critics, with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos calling the statement "misdirection."
"Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this," Bezos said Saturday. "It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics."
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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (AP)
But the White House did respond to Bezos on Twitter Sunday, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre arguing that gas prices have not fallen along with a recent dip in oil prices.
"Oil prices have dropped by about $15 over the past month, but prices at the pump have barely come down," Jean-Pierre said on Twitter Sunday. "That’s not ‘basic market dynamics.’ It’s a market that is failing the American consumer."