The White House and Jeff Bezos have renewed a spat over Joe Biden’s handling of high inflation after the Amazon founder criticized the US president for calling on companies to cut gas station prices.
On Saturday, Biden asked gas station companies on Twitter to cut rising fuel prices in a “time of war and global peril.”
“Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the price you pay for the product. And do it now,” he wrote.
Later that day, Bezos tweeted in response that inflation was “too important an issue for the White House to keep making statements like this.”
“It’s either misdirection or a profound misunderstanding of underlying market dynamics,” said the world’s third-richest man.
Karin Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, hit back on Sunday, tweeting that oil prices had fallen about $15 in the past month, while gas station prices had “barely” dropped, adding that it was a sign that the market is “failing the American consumer.”
She added: “But I guess it’s no surprise that you think oil and gas companies using market power to extract record profits at the expense of the American people is the way our economy is supposed to work.”
It wasn’t the first heated exchange between Bezos and the White House. The billionaire attacked the Biden administration in May over the failed Build Back Better bill, which he said could worsen inflation.
The proposed legislation aimed to increase taxes on wealthy people and big companies to help fund spending on education, childcare and climate change schemes.
The spike in prices, which Biden has largely blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has become a hot topic in US politics ahead of November’s midterm elections.
It also exacerbated tensions between corporate America and some Democratic lawmakers, who accused the companies of price gouging. But most economists say several factors have contributed to inflationary pressures, including a post-coronavirus pandemic rebound, bottlenecks in supply chains and government stimulus generating strong demand, as well as the war in Ukraine.
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The spat between Bezos and the White House came as the businessman stepped up his previously infrequent use of Twitter after stepping down as Amazon CEO last year.
John Kirby, the National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator, said he took “great exception” to allegations of misdirection when asked by Fox News Sunday about Bezos’ comments.
Kirby added that the president has been honest about efforts to lower gas pump prices, including the release of 1 million barrels of oil from the nation’s strategic reserves.
Kirby added that before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden was clear that Kyiv’s support would not be “free for the American people.”
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