On Monday, even CNN anchor Jake Tapper called out a top Biden administration official for claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to blame for the country’s record-high gas prices.
Despite President Joe Biden’s decision to open up the country’s strategic petroleum reserve, gas prices hit new highs last week. Furthermore, fuel prices are expected to rise steadily throughout the summer.
Tapper asked Deese about a number of issues that Americans are facing and what the Biden administration is doing about them on The Lead Monday. A major concern was gasoline.
But during an interview with Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, Tapper asked about the “exorbitant” price of gasoline. Deese completely deflected responsibility from Biden for the growing problem.
“Today on average gas is costing $4.60 a gallon. That’s up more than 10 cents a gallon from last week, almost 50 cents from last month. We’re one week away from Memorial Day. Should Americans be buckling up for these high prices for the entire summer?” Tapper pressed.
Deese said the White House is working to alleviate pain at the pump.
Deese responded:
“Well, we’re doing everything we can to try to bring those prices down. As you know, this all emanates from Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, which took Russian oil off the market.”
Tapper, on the other hand, did not let the lie go unchecked.
“Not all of it. Not all of it, I mean, some of it, yes,” he shot back.
Prices began to rise before Russia invaded Ukraine in February, according to Deese, due to fears that Russian oil would leave the market.
Deese responded:
“Just to be really clear, since troops started massing on the Ukrainian border and there was a concern that Russian supplies would come off, we have seen prices at the pump go up to $1.50. That is the price hike that is associated with the impact of taking Russian supply off the market.”
“So, we’re doing everything we can to bring more supply onto the market,” Deese concluded.
As Tapper pointed out, Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, which triggered a wave of crippling economic sanctions against Russia, is partly to blame for the higher gas prices.
In early March, shortly after Putin invaded Ukraine, the White House dubbed the country’s record-high gas prices the “Putin Price Hike.” Since then, the administration has blamed the invasion for rising prices, which have recently surpassed new highs.
Regular gasoline is currently priced at $4.60 per gallon, while diesel and premium gasoline is priced at $5.55 and $5.26, respectively.
However, since Biden’s inauguration last year, the price of gasoline has been steadily rising.
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Sources: Dailywire, Nypost, Resistthemainstream