If you're going to criticize President Joe Biden, you better have the facts right or you'll become a laughingstock online.
Republican Representative from Ohio, Jim Jordan tried to complain about the higher gas prices now compared to last summer, but got quickly shot down by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Jordan kicked things off by pointing out that the average gas price in the country is over $3 per gallon.
He ended the comparison by saying:
"President Biden's economy!"
However, Jen Psaki pointed out that statistic is a cherry-picked snapshot.
Jordan failed to mention that at the time in June 2020, there were extenuating circumstances for why gas prices were so low. Namely, a global pandemic with poor response from the government at that time.
If you compare gas prices this year to 2018, they're pretty similar, suggesting a market correction. But if Rep. Jordan really wants to talk about the state of the economy this year versus last year, he'll have to accept the 11% unemployment rate versus the under 6% rate of today.
This isn't even getting into the fact that President Biden hasn't passed any policy that would raise the price of gas.
Basically, Jordan's tweet is wrong no matter how you look at it.
This tweet by Jordan isn't surprising. It's the M-O of the Republican party to tie as many negative things as they can to the Democrats even if they have no control over it.
During the 2012 election, Republicans tried to tie President Obama to the rising cost of gas, despite prices rising all over the world from the recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Similarly, they've tried to pin our current inflation on overspending by the Biden administration.
In another tweet, Jordan says:
"Steel prices are up. Lumber prices are up. Construction costs are up. And President Biden thinks we can afford an infrastructure bill?"
What Jordan failed to mention was that the Republican answer to the massive infrastructure bill proposed by President Biden is... wait for it...
A gas tax.
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U.S. Mint
