President Joe Biden on Friday blamed the actions of Saudi Arabia and Russia for raising gas prices as he tried to say his administration was cutting costs — while Republicans would let them rise again.
He used a National Manufacturing Day speech at a Volvo engine plant in Maryland to talk about what he and his team consider a record commercial success.
And he contrasted it with what he said if Republicans from Park Avenue took power in the November midterm elections.
“The cost of each kitchen table will go up, not down,” he said, while painting a bleak picture of what a Republican victory would mean for families.
“And I realize the cost of groceries is going up, and I’ve been able to get the gas down well past $1.60, but it’s going up because the Russians and the Saudis just aren’t done with it.”
This week, his hopes that gas prices would fall further were dashed when oil alliance OPEC+ announced it would cut production.
President Joe Biden used a speed at a Volvo plant on Friday to tout his administration’s economic record, blaming Russia and Saudi Arabia for raising gas prices
Gas prices have risen again in the US after falling in recent weeks
Biden was convicted of a fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July while he was seeking help to cut gas prices
It was particularly embarrassing for Biden, who has been banking on a public meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is accused of plotting the assassination of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in hopes of improving ties.
And it comes a month before the midterms, which could return control of the House and Senate to Republicans.
In his remarks, Biden warned that Republicans would enact policies that could spell the end of Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits.
He also called several Republican lawmakers by name, saying they had written to his administration demanding money for the districts, even though they voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, dismissing it as socialism.
Biden delivered his speech at Volvo Group Truck’s powertrain plant, which builds engines, just outside of Hagerstown.
He highlighted the latest jobs report, which shows 263,000 jobs were added in September – along with around 10 million during his tenure.
But even with so much good news, he couldn’t help but start with a faux pas.
“We start with two words: Made in America,” he told his audience in a warehouse full of machines and American flags.
‘Made in America. It’s not an exaggeration.’
Biden toured a Volvo powertrain factory in Maryland on Friday, and he and his team continue to lean on their message that the economy is in good shape — despite high inflation
After struggling with crippling inflation and record pump prices for much of his tenure, Biden and his team believe they have a good story to tell.
Biden is leaning on his economic record after several recent wins and feels the outlook is improving just in time for the interim period.
“Across America, we’re proving that ‘Made in America’ isn’t just a slogan, it’s a reality, to prove that our best days are ahead, not behind us,” he said after touring the facility.
A day earlier, he predicted that a $20 billion investment by IBM in New York’s Hudson River Valley will help give the United States a technological edge over China while appearing in matches with two house Democrats.
He said IBM’s involvement is part of a larger manufacturing boom spurred by the passage this summer of a $280 billion measure — the CHIPS and Science Act — to boost the semiconductor industry and scientific research.
This legislation is necessary for national and economic security, Biden said in Poughkeepsie, adding that “the Chinese Communist Party has actively fought against it.”
“The United States needs to lead the world in manufacturing these advanced chips — this law will ensure that it does,” Biden said.
The CHIPS and Science Act, which Biden signed into law in August, was a rare bill for which the president was able to garner bipartisan support.
This week, conservative economists said the US economy could make an extra $100 billion a year as oil prices soar if Donald Trump’s policies had been maintained, and Republicans stepped up their attacks on Biden’s handling of the issue
And it has given Democrats hope that voters will respond to good news despite months of economic woes.
However, Republicans stepped up their attacks on Biden, saying it was his policies that raised prices at the pump.
“Under Biden, OPEC controls our destiny rather than American energy independence,” Pat Harrigan, a candidate for the North Carolina Republican House of Representatives, said in a tweet.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks tweeted: “US oil production has fallen by 1.2 million barrels a day since its peak under President Trump. Biden must end his war on American energy!’
Republicans are advocating an easing of government restrictions on US power generation to bring down costs.
Sen Lisa Murkowski said: “The Biden administration has had more than a year and a half to prepare for this turn of events, including more than seven months since Russia’s disastrous war against Ukraine began, but has not done so.
“Instead of approving key projects and reforming the broken processes holding them back, the government has sold off unprecedented amounts of our emergency oil reserves.”
Meanwhile, Biden has accused oil and gas companies of profiteering and urged Congress to find ways to reduce OPEC+’s power over prices.
“The President is also urging U.S. energy companies to continue lowering pump prices by closing the historically wide gap between wholesale and retail gas prices — so American consumers pay less at the pump,” said Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor, and Economics adviser Brian Deese in a joint statement.