President Joe Biden is now getting new criticism from a rather unlikely source: Jeff Bezos, the founder of e-tailer behemoth Amazon.
Bezos blasted the president on Saturday after Biden took to Twitter to blame gas stations for high fuel prices while claiming they are purposely overcharging customers and demanding they lower prices.
“My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now,” Biden’s Twitter account said.
My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril.
Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.
— President Biden
The tweet comes as Americans are paying an average of around $4.83 per gallon of gasoline, but prices have risen steadily since right after Biden took office. Republicans blame his anti-fossil fuel policies; the administration has blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bezos, though, accused Biden of essentially undermining the capitalist principles that comprise the U.S. economic system.
“Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics,” Bezos tweeted.
Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It’s either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics.
— Jeff Bezos
The Daily Mail also noted that a Chinese state government official used Biden’s tweet for propaganda purposes.
Biden found apparent support from Chinese state media reporter Chen Weihua.
The communist mouthpiece sent a sarcastic tweet highlighting how Biden was seeking to undermine the principles of supply and demand which dictate prices in a free-market economy like that of the United States.
Weihua tweeted: ‘Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation. He didn’t believe this before.’
The reporter tweeted something similar to Biden in 2021 when he responded to the president’s tweet that read: ‘Let me be clear: capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation.’
Weihua wrote then: ‘Capitalism is all about exploitation. Period.’
My comment on Biden’s tweet last year, when he didn’t believe that greedy capitalism is all about exploitation.
— Chen Weihua （陈卫华）
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) added: “My message to the guy running your teleprompter. It’s YOUR fault. Reverse the dozens of executive orders, regulations & agency actions targeting American energy, and gas prices will fall… FAST. #Bidenflation.”
Last month, Biden also tried pressuring gas stations to lower prices, noting on Twitter: “These are not normal times. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you are paying for the product.”
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