The White House defended President Joe Biden on Sunday after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos criticized him for urging energy corporations to cut exorbitant gasoline costs (Jul 3).
Before the next legislative elections in November, rising gas prices at the pump have come to represent broader price increases in the U.S. and are eroding Vice President Joe Biden's popularity.
Biden has frequently criticized oil firms, claiming that they primarily consider profits rather than the welfare of the typical consumer.
In response, the firms claim they have increased production to control prices, although these are determined by the global market and are subject to dynamics outside the control of U.S. oil majors.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary for the White House, tweeted on Sunday that the price of oil has decreased by around $15 per barrel in the previous month.
Democrats and the oil industry have been at odds as the cost of petroleum rises due to constrained supply chains and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The average price of gas has increased to $4.81 per gallon from $3.12 last year.
A price-gouging law was recently introduced in Congress to stop businesses from raising gas prices to retain profit margins. According to Larry Summers, the action was "hazardous."
The president had tweeted a caution to gas sellers not to raise prices as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, to which the founder of Amazon was replying.
Bezos's remarks are the most recent exchange in a dispute between the two over inflation that dates back to May. During that time, Bezos accused Biden of spreading false information by attributing price increases to big businesses.
Bezos was not pleased with Biden's tweet, but Chinese state media praised it.
The state-owned China Daily's European reporter, Chen Weihua, tweeted that the U.S. president had recently come to the realization that capitalism is all about exploitation.
In an effort to counteract rising gas costs, the White House recently proposed a three-month gas tax holiday; however, this proposal has also encountered criticism and was earlier dismissed as a "gimmick" by Barack Obama.
On Sunday, John Kirby, the White House's national security spokesman, defended the president in an appearance on Fox News.
He referenced Biden's plans to use the U.S. strategic oil reserves to increase the amount of product on the market and his proposal to suspend the federal gas tax this summer, both of which would require congressional approval.
