President Joe Biden on Wednesday used Hurricane Ian as an opportunity to bash oil companies, urging them not to raise gas prices in the aftermath of the storm, even as prices at the pump skyrocketed to record levels on his watch.
Biden made the remarks at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.
He opened by assuring Floridians that he had set aside his political brawls with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and that his administration “is ready to help in every single way possible.”
Then it was the oil companies’ turn.
“I want to add one more warning,” Biden began. “That’s a warning to the oil and gas industry executives: Do not — let me repeat — do not — do not use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people.”
“The price of oil has stayed relatively low. It kept going down. The price of gas should be going down as well.”
In the news: President Biden To Deliver Remarks On Hurricane Ian Impact On Florida
Biden added that his “experts” told him that Hurricane Ian had affected less than 2 percent of domestic oil production so far.
“This small, temporary storm impact on oil production provides no excuse — no excuse — for price increases at the pump. None,” Biden said.
“If gas companies try to use this storm to raise prices at the pump, I will ask officials to look into whether price gouging is going on. America is watching. The industry should do the right thing,” Biden continued.
“As a matter of fact, they should move more quickly now to bring down the price at the pump because gasoline is down — the price of gasoline is down a great deal.”
A “great deal” compared to what?
According to AAA, the average price per gallon on Wednesday was $3.77. That’s $1.39 a gallon — or 58 percent — higher than when Biden took office.
Residents of Nevada and the West Coast are all paying at least $5 a gallon. In California, gas still sits at $6.04 a gallon.
The primary reason prices have come down from the record heights in the summer is a drop in demand. As one industry analyst told CNBC in July the high prices then led to “demand destruction,” as people drove less to offset the price.
That’s been coupled with a boost in the global supply to pre-pandemic levels, despite the war launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s overall oil production was down just 8 percent between the beginning of the year and August, according to the International Energy Agency.
This week, the website OilPrice.com predicted gas prices are set to go up. The outlet cited a report by JP Morgan, which predicted a 17 percent spike in crude prices in the fourth quarter.
This is because of money-tightening related to the recession that Biden denies we’re in — an economic slowdown brought on by attempts to counter the inflation caused by Biden’s reckless spending.
Meanwhile, Biden’s green-energy policies have made energy fossil-fuel companies feel like their days are numbered — as he has supported a carbon tax, halted new leases for drilling, killed the Keystone XL pipeline, pushed for more electric vehicles (without explaining where we’ll get the power to charge them all) and gutted regulatory reforms that former President Donald Trump implemented to boost domestic production and slash prices.
If Biden wants to see who is gouging Floridians and the rest of America at the pump, he should look in the mirror.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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