President Joe Biden’s White House doubled down on blaming gas stations for high pump prices in a pushback against billionaire Jeff Bezos on Sunday. Bezos argued earlier Sunday that the Biden administration’s insistence on blaming oil companies for high prices shows “a profound misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.” White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre escalated the controversy on Twitter, saying natural gas companies have refused to lower prices at the pump even though the base cost of oil has fallen. “Oil prices are down about $15 in the past month, but prices at the pump have barely budged. This is not ‘fundamental market dynamics.’ This is a market that is failing the American consumer,” he wrote to Bezos. JEFF BEZOS OVERCOMES BIDEN’S ‘MISDIRECTION’ ON INFLATION, MANCHIN SAYS ‘SAVED’ MAYORS ‘FROM THEMSELVES’ JEFF BEZOS: WHITE HOUSE IS TRYING TO GET OUT OF INFLATION BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT ‘PAYS THE MOST OF THE MOST’ “But I guess it’s no wonder you think oil and gas companies using market power to make record profits at the expense of the American people is how our economy is supposed to work,” he added. Biden’s fight with Bezos began with a tweet from the president on Saturday demanding that natural gas companies unilaterally cut 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. Lower the price you charge at the pump to reflect the cost you pay for the product. And do it now he ordered. Natural gas companies are just the latest subject of Biden’s ire as the White House scrambles for solutions — and justifications — for high gas prices and record-breaking inflation. Biden blamed both on Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to Europe last week. GET THE FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE “The bottom line is, at the end of the day, the reason gas prices are going up is because of Russia, Russia, Russia,” Biden continued. “The reason the food crisis exists is because Russia and Russia are not allowing grain to leave Ukraine.”
