Trying to keep up with the Biden administration’s spin these days is a great way to give yourself motion sickness.
The White House’s latest mental gymnastics come courtesy of the president’s Twitter feed, where he has put out a number of statements trying to take credit for recent minor reductions in gas prices. For example, President Joe Biden is now trying to take a victory lap because he says gas prices have fallen 65 cents over the last 40 days.
Make that 65 cents down over 40 days. https://t.co/js2oPq5Z1W
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 24, 2022
This is absurd for a number of reasons.
For one, gas prices remain at $4.30 per gallon nationwide, according to AAA . And in many parts of the country, as the below map shows, they remain north of $5 per gallon. These are insanely high gas prices, and in any other context, they would be viewed as a massive red flag for a president, not something to celebrate or take credit for.
Biden is trying to brag about reductions in gas prices while the national average remains $4.30 and many places still have gas prices over $5.50.
Yes, seriously.
Tone-deaf, much? pic.twitter.com/h0sXCvkaw7
— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️🏳️🌈 (@brad_polumbo) July 27, 2022
This is kind of like when politicians shut down the economy with lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and then, after businesses reopened and many (but not all) of the jobs came back, said, “Look at all the jobs I created!”
What’s more, Biden was just a hot minute ago telling us that gas prices weren’t his fault at all. Remember, the White House pushed the fake narrative that it was all just “Putin’s price hike,” happening because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — even though gas prices had risen significantly under Biden’s watch well before the invasion began.
Biden doesn’t get to have it both ways.
If the president had no culpability for higher gas prices, he can’t take credit for lower gas prices. And vice versa: If he does deserve credit for these lower prices, then he deserves blame for the higher prices.
Consistency, people. Is it really too much to ask for?
This is kind of similar to something former President Donald Trump used to do. He would routinely take credit for the stock market when it made record gains, even though no president is really fully responsible for the fluctuations of the market. But he would never say anything or acknowledge any fault when it crashed.
Voters should see through this kind of dishonest spin, regardless of whether the politician pushing it is a Democrat or a Republican. Focus on reality, not rhetoric.
Analysts have always maintained that gas prices are influenced by many factors, not all of which are within Biden’s (or any president’s) control. That said, he has certainly worsened the problem and driven prices higher through his anti-energy policies and rhetoric that have discouraged domestic supply.
It’s not all bad. We do have a strong labor market and low unemployment rate, for one thing. But the economy is shrinking, real wages are declining , inflation is surging, and gas prices are bankrupting the public. The president is going to have to do a lot better than redefining words and taking credit for minor reductions in prices if he wants to salvage the hot mess that is our economy under Bidenomics.
This article originally appeared in the Washington Examiner.
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