Biden sent out a tweet on Saturday saying that natural gas sellers are taking advantage of the war in Ukraine by setting unreasonably high gas prices. “My message to the companies that operate gas stations and set prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global danger,” Biden said. “Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product. And do it now.” Bezos hit back at the president, writing in a retweet: “Ugh. Inflation is too big a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.” But White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre stood by Biden’s remarks. “Oil prices fell by about $15 last month, but prices at the pump have barely budged. This is not ‘fundamental market dynamics’. It is a market that is failing the American consumer,” he tweeted. He also went a step further and directly criticized Bezo: “But I guess it’s no surprise that you think oil and gas companies using market power to make record profits at the expense of the American people is the way it’s supposed to be that our economy works”. Another White House official also defended the president. John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, told Fox News Sunday that Bezos was wrong and that Biden is “saying exactly what he thinks in terms everyone can understand.” Biden blamed Russia’s war in Ukraine and oil and gas companies for record US inflation and high energy costs. Last month, the president accused Exxon Mobil of making “more money than God this year” while Americans pay record prices at the pump. He also met with oil company CEOs to encourage them to do more to lower gas prices. Bezos has clashed with the White House over inflation many times. In May, after Biden said that making sure companies pay their fair share of taxes could fight inflation, Bezos also called it “misdirection.”
