On Monday, according to Newsweek, President Joe Biden drew strong criticism on Fox News and Twitter after saying that high gas prices are characteristic of an “incredible transition” away from fossil fuels.
During a press conference in Japan after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, President Biden said, “When it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told FOX Business that she blamed “the Biden gas hike” for rising prices.
“Paired with historic inflation and shortages for basic goods like baby formula, the rising cost of gas is the result of Joe Biden and Democrats’ anti-U.S. energy agenda. Unfortunately, Biden only plans to make this crisis worse for families by not doing anything,” she said.
According to a new report by Yardeni research, Americans are now paying what amounts to $5,000 per year to fill up their cars, an increase from $2,800 just a year ago. According to the study, the annual price of gas by US consumers was $3,800 in March.
The New York Post reported that Yardeni said, “No wonder that the Consumer Sentiment Index is so depressed. The wonder is that retail sales have been so surprisingly strong during April and May.”
As Americans try to determine if buying an electric vehicle (EV) would help them save money, CNBC reports that automakers such as Tesla and Cadillac are raising prices on their EVs amid a shifting market and higher costs for key components, such as EV batteries.
In 2020, Car and Driver magazine reported that EVs are only sometimes cheaper to operate. “As they say, it’s complicated,” it said.
According to AAA, Texas gas prices averaged $4.278, up from $3.780 a month ago and $2.740 a year ago.
In April, Bloomberg reported that the Biden administration alleges the increase in prices is due to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February. When gas prices shot up in reaction to sanctions on Russian oil, President Biden released oil from the strategic reserves, which he said wouldn’t provide much relief.
During Monday’s press conference, Biden also said that the American economy “has problems” and “will take some time to recover,” The New York Post reported.
A Reuters poll, conducted between April 4 and 8, found that 25% of economists believe the U.S. will have a recession this year, rising to 40% over the next 24 months.