Energy experts slam Biden for touting modest decrease in gas prices
Gas prices stood at a national average of $2.60 the day President Biden took office
President Biden took to social media to tout a modest recent decrease in gas prices, drawing ire from critics who pointed out that prices are still up sharply since the president took office.
"Touting a small decrease in gas prices while the average American is still struggling is a slap in the face to these working class Americans," Alexis Martinez Johnson, an environmental engineer and Republican nominee for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, told Fox News Digital. "We have the capability to lower gas prices right here in New Mexico, but Joe Biden would rather fist bump Saudi dictators instead of bringing costs down in America."
Martinez Johnson's comment comes after Biden shared a graphic on Twitter Monday showing that drivers are saving $35 a month from when gas prices peaked, while a family with two cars is saving $70 per month.
"For American families looking for a little more breathing room, these savings matter," Biden said.
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President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)
The president's messaging on gas prices has undergone significant changes over the last few months, with Biden saying in June that there was little he could do to ease the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. Instead, Biden pointed to Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine as the reason for the surge in prices, branding the rise as "Putin's price hike."
Biden has recently changed his tune, touting a modest decrease in gas prices over the last month and crediting his decision to release barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
"Congress created the reserve to prevent worldwide oil shortages, or serious supply disruptions," Terry Namkung, a 20-year Air Force veteran, founder of a renewable energy company, and the GOP nominee for Congress in Virginia's 3rd Congressional District, told Fox News Digital.
"We do not have a global crisis; however, we have a governing crisis," he continued. "The severe supply interruption is self-inflicted, and the people of our country are suffering at the gas stations because we are putting Climate and Energy politics over people."
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An oil well pump jack is seen at an oil field supply yard near Denver, Colorado, U.S. (Reauters)
According to AAA, gas prices peaked at a national average of over $5 per gallon in June, but have fallen since then to an average of $4.327 per gallon. But the average price of gas the day Biden took office was $2.60, a fact that has not gone unnoticed by critics.
"Biden is trying to have his cake and eat it too by taking credit for a small decrease but disavowing responsibility for record high prices," Martinez Johnson said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.