LMulti-billionaire and founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos felt that the American president was mistaken in calling on gasoline distributors to lower prices quickly, prompting several White House officials on Sunday July 3 to defend Joe Biden.
“My message to companies that operate gas stations and set prices at the pump is simple: We are in a time of war and global peril,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Saturday. “Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product. And do it now. »
For Jeff Bezos, this reasoning is “either an attempt at diversion, or a profound misunderstanding of the basic dynamics of the market”. “Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to continue to make statements like this,” he reacted on the social network on Saturday.
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Popularity at half mast due to soaring prices
Soaring prices at the pump, which have become a symbol of the general rise in prices, weigh down the popularity of the Democratic president, who regularly criticizes the oil giants for getting rich without making efforts to solve the problem. The latter retort that they are increasing their production and that they operate the American refineries at very high rates, but that the prices are fixed on the world market and are subject to dynamics beyond their control.
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White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre came to Joe Biden’s defense on Sunday, noting on Twitter that crude prices have fallen “about $15 over the past month” but prices at the pump “have barely come down”. “It’s not about the basic market dynamics. It is a market that is failing the American consumer. »
The gallon of gasoline in the United States rose above the symbolic $5 threshold in early June for the first time. It has come down a bit since then but remains far from the 3.10 dollars of a year ago.
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“The president is working very, very hard to try to reduce prices”
John Kirby, who coordinates White House communication on strategic issues, defended Joe Biden’s position in an interview on Fox on Sunday.
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“The president is working very, very hard, on several fronts (…) to try to reduce prices” at the pump, he assured, before mentioning, among other things, his proposal to suspend the federal tax on gasoline during the summer – which must be accepted by Congress – or the decision to draw heavily on strategic oil reserves.
“He knows it won’t solve all the problems, but it will help if everyone cooperates, and we could bring the price down at least about $1 a gallon,” he added.