Biden blames Putin for high gas prices — but this timeline proves it’s the prez’s own fault!
This March 18, 2022 column by Deroy Murdock appeared at NYPost.com.
President Joe Biden and prominent Democrats blame Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, alleged oil-company collusion and even COVID-19 for today’s sky-high gas prices. They refuse to take responsibility for this monumental mess of their own design.
Revealing either an Olympic-grade lack of self-awareness or a perjury-strength talent for lying, President Biden said: “It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production.”
While running for president, Biden repeatedly promised to do exactly this.
“I guarantee you,” Biden told New Hampshire voters on Sept. 16, 2019. “We’re going to end fossil fuels.”
“Would you close down the oil industry?” moderator Kristen Welker asked Biden in the Oct. 22, 2020, presidential debate. He replied: “I would transition from the oil industry. Yes.”
From Day 1, Biden and the Democrats’ actions and statements pushed gasoline prices steadily higher.
Jan. 20, 2021: Just hours after Biden’s inauguration, his executive order killed the Keystone XL Pipeline and launched the Democrat War on Oil.
National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy entered office. She once said, “I want fossil fuels gone. I want fossil fuels out of products. I don’t want to help the fossil fuel industry to extend their life.” The US Energy Information Administration reported that week’s average gallon of regular gasoline cost $2.38.
Jan. 27, 2021: Biden directed the Interior Department to stop oil and natural-gas leases on federal lands and in public waters. (Gasoline: $2.39)
Feb. 14, 2021: Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland declared: “We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground.” ($2.46)
Feb. 25, 2021: The US Senate confirmed Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. She previously said, “We ought to be doing everything we possibly can to keep fossil fuel energy in the ground.” ($2.63)
March 2, 2021: Climate envoy John Kerry told CNN that fossil-fuel companies “ought to be figuring out how do we become not an oil-and-gas company, but how do we become an energy company.” ($2.71)
April 22, 2021: Biden unveiled a “Climate Finance Plan” to “promote the flow” of capital “away from high-carbon investments.” ($2.85)
May 20, 2021: Biden signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to calculate the highly speculative risk of so-called “global warming.” Kerry chirped: “It’s going to change allocation of capital.” ($3.02)
June 1, 2021: Biden halted oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. ($3.03)
July 11, 2021: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that she expects multilateral development banks to “discourage new investments in fossil fuel-based power generation except where other options are not possible.” ($3.12)
Aug. 16, 2021: Reuters reported, “Treasury to oppose development bank financing for most fossil fuel projects.” ($3.17)
Sept. 23, 2021: Biden nominates Soviet-born and -educated Saule Omarova as comptroller of the currency. She had said of oil and gas companies, “We want them to go bankrupt.” She also stated, “The way we basically get rid of those carbon financiers is we starve them of their sources of capital.” Drowning in controversy, Omarova eventually yanked her name from consideration. ($3.18)
Oct. 28, 2021: State Department energy-security aide Amos Hochstein called oil and gas investment “unfortunate and unnecessary.” ($3.38)
Nov. 5, 2021: Asked about boosting output to curb gas prices, Energy Secretary Granholm replied: “That is hilarious.” ($3.39)
Dec. 10, 2021: Biden directed federal agencies to cease funding new, international, carbon-intensive fossil-fuel initiatives. ($3.34)
Jan. 31, 2022: Reuters reported,“The Biden administration will raise the royalty rate that drilling companies must pay on oil and gas leases it plans to sell in the first quarter.” ($3.37)
Feb. 24, 2022: Russia attacks Ukraine. ($3.53)
Feb. 28, 2022: Team Biden announces it would accept a federal court’s rejection of its few drilling-lease sales. ($3.60)
Gasoline prices climbed 48.3% between Biden’s inauguration and Putin’s invasion. This week’s average gallon of regular hit a record $4.31, up 81% under Biden. While Putin’s barbarism has helped elevate pump prices, he merely has heightened the pain that Biden and Democrats already had perpetrated against the American people.
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Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News Contributor, a contributing editor with National Review Online and a senior fellow with the London Center for Policy Research. Bucknell University’s Michael Malarkey contributed research to this opinion piece.