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 administrationâs 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 âan incredible transitionâ from fossil fuels to âgreenâ energy, though he did not campaign on a platform of âelectric cars for all.â
Biden said: âThe price of gas at the pump is something that I told you â you heard me say before â it would be a matter of great discussion at my kitchen table when I was a kid growing up. Itâs affecting a lot of families.â
âWhen it comes to the gas prices, weâre going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when itâs over, weâll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over.â
Cruz took umbrage at those comments.
âJoe Biden isnât unhappy about high gas prices. Heâs in Tokyo, celebrating, saying, itâs âan incredible transition.â Yeah, incredible for you, you fly a damn 747 where the taxpayers pay for your jet fuel,â the Texas Republican railed.
âWhat Joe Biden is saying is, if you, at home, if you drive a pickup truck, to hell with you, you canât drive your pickup truck. If you have a Suburban, youâve got to get rid of that. If youâve got a minivan, youâve got to get rid of that,â he continued.
âWeâre all getting Toyota Priuses, although, heâs going to pitch it as, weâre all getting Teslas, but apparently, someoneâs going to give us 100 grand to get one,â Cruz continued. âIt 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.â
âJohn Kerry, as he flies his private jet all over the globe, says, gosh, youâve got to give up your pickup truck,â Cruz went on.
âBecause I care so much about the environment and itâs just â itâs cruel and messed up, and I think the American people are really seeing it,â he said.
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House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) also ripped into Biden for the comment.
âBiden refers to the skyrocketing gas prices as an âincredible transition.â Theyâre saying the quiet part out loud now. Theyâre causing you pain at the pump because itâs all part of their radical agenda,â he tweeted.
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 summerâs 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 âcruel summerâ as gas prices were expected to continue blowing through records.
âWith expectations of strong driving demand â 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 â U.S. retail price could surge another 37% by August to a $6.20/gallon national average,â she wrote.
âTypically, refiners produce more gasoline ahead of the summer road-trip season, building up inventories,â the analysts said. However, over the last several weeks, âgasoline inventories have fallen counter seasonally and today sit at the lowest seasonal levels since 2019.â