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A frustrated Sen. Ted Cruz reacted strongly to comments by President Joe Biden on Tuesday over what he regarded as a tone-deaf, cavalier response to continually rising gasoline and diesel fuel prices, which he blamed on the administration’s energy policies.
The Texas Republican, in an interview with Fox News, made his comments after Biden appeared to dismiss the high prices by saying the country is in the midst of “an incredible transition” from fossil fuels to ‘green’ energy, though he did not campaign on a platform of ‘electric cars for all.’
Biden said: “The price of gas at the pump is something that I told you — you heard me say before — it would be a matter of great discussion at my kitchen table when I was a kid growing up. It’s affecting a lot of families.”
“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.”
Cruz took umbrage at those comments.
“Joe Biden isn’t unhappy about high gas prices. He’s in Tokyo, celebrating, saying, it’s ‘an incredible transition.’ Yeah, incredible for you, you fly a damn 747 where the taxpayers pay for your jet fuel,” the Texas Republican railed.
“What Joe Biden is saying is, if you, at home, if you drive a pickup truck, to hell with you, you can’t drive your pickup truck. If you have a Suburban, you’ve got to get rid of that. If you’ve got a minivan, you’ve got to get rid of that,” he continued.
“We’re all getting Toyota Priuses, although, he’s going to pitch it as, we’re all getting Teslas, but apparently, someone’s going to give us 100 grand to get one,” Cruz continued. “It is the most arrogant contempt for working men and women in this country, and that is the view of the hard left, let them eat cake.”
“John Kerry, as he flies his private jet all over the globe, says, gosh, you’ve got to give up your pickup truck,” Cruz went on.
“Because I care so much about the environment and it’s just — it’s cruel and messed up, and I think the American people are really seeing it,” he said.
WATCH:
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) also ripped into Biden for the comment.
“Biden refers to the skyrocketing gas prices as an ‘incredible transition.’ They’re saying the quiet part out loud now. They’re causing you pain at the pump because it’s all part of their radical agenda,” he tweeted.
WATCH → Biden refers to the skyrocketing gas prices as an “incredible transition.”
They’re saying the quiet part out loud now.
They’re causing you pain at the pump because it’s all part of their radical agenda. pic.twitter.com/XOD0P243vC
— Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) May 23, 2022
Meanwhile, an analysis last week predicted even higher gas and diesel prices over the summer.
Analysts at a top U.S. bank warned nationwide gasoline prices are likely to skyrocket further from the current average price per gallon of $4.589 to more than $6 per gallon by summer’s end.
Natasha Kaneva, head of global oil and commodities research at JPMorgan, wrote in a research memo that the U.S. was in for a “cruel summer” as gas prices were expected to continue blowing through records.
“With expectations of strong driving demand — traditionally, the U.S. summer driving season starts on Memorial Day, which lands this year on May 30, and lasts until Labor Day in early September — U.S. retail price could surge another 37% by August to a $6.20/gallon national average,” she wrote.
“Typically, refiners produce more gasoline ahead of the summer road-trip season, building up inventories,” the analysts said. However, over the last several weeks, “gasoline inventories have fallen counter seasonally and today sit at the lowest seasonal levels since 2019.”
