Bloomberg Host Calls Biden ‘Shockingly Naive’ To WH Adviser’s Face

White House economic adviser Heather Boushey was grilled Thursday about President Joe Biden’s plans to bring down prices at the pump while on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”

Boushey was discussing rising gas prices when co-host Jonathan Ferro asked about the White House’s messaging on gas companies.

“The president over the weekend said this: ‘my message to the company is 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 are paying for the product and do it now,'” Ferro said.

“Jeff Bezos came out and tweeted the following, I’m sure you’ve read it, ‘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.’ I’m not going to accuse you of the latter, I want to talk about the former. Where is that messaging coming from?” Ferro asked.

“The president has made clear that his number one goal is delivering for the American people,” Boushey said. “We are in a time of crisis, we are in a time of war where the president and our allies, we are supporting the Ukrainian people. Congress has engaged in this effort, both sides of the aisle, to say this is an important priority. One of the consequences is this high price of oil because of global trends.”

“You didn’t answer his important question. Everyone in the nation wants to know the answer to the question he asked you. Who is advising the president on shockingly naive price theory over a gallon of gas?” co-host Tom Keene pushed.

“The president is not shockingly naive. We are in this moment of global crisis in terms of energy. He is using the tools at his disposal to make sure that the prices people pay at the pump are fair. In oil prices, the prices can rise very quickly. It can take a long time for prices to recalibrate and come back down. He’s saying do that faster, you have the capacity to do so, you are making profit. He’s using the tools at his disposal given this very challenging situation.” (RELATED: Oil Companies Unload On Biden After His Thinly-Veiled Threats)

“Central planning now?” Ferro said. “Are we going to decide what’s fair, what’s not fair? Go on Twitter and then say bring your prices down? Is that markets are not markets? Is it capitalism or central planning? Where is this White House going?”

“One of the things that the president has prioritized is understanding the way concentration across the markets affects the American people, is affecting markets. We know this is Econ 101. You know when there’s monopolies that there is more price setting power. That’s one of the things we know.”

Biden demanded companies running major gas stations drop their prices Saturday. Bezos hit back, accusing the administration of either misdirecting the American people or just not understanding basic economics.

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. https://t.co/XgKfEICZpk

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) July 3, 2022

The administration has continually blamed high gas prices on the Ukraine/Russia war but now the administration seems to be implying increased costs are due to deliberate price gouging.

This wasn’t the first time Biden took aim at the oil industry. He demanded in June that industry executives need to boost refining output.

Biden warned the leaders of seven major U.S. oil producers and refiners that he was “prepared to use all reasonable and appropriate Federal Government tools and emergency authorities” to increase petroleum refinery capacity and output, according to Axios.