Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy pressed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on President Joe Biden “bragging” about gas prices at Friday’s briefing.
Doocy suggested the president is “bragging” about gas prices lowering, as they continue to exceed $4 per gallon on average. Jean-Pierre claimed prices have lowered at their fastest rate in over a decade.
“It’s still over $4 a gallon, though, is that good?” Doocy asked.
“You want to talk to a nurse or a teacher, or a firefighter if having that little bit of breathing room doesn’t matter to them?” Jean-Pierre replied.
“Are nurses, and teachers, and firefighters saying ‘gas prices are only $4.11, this is great?'” he pressed.
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The press secretary said the decrease in gas prices matters to working and middle-class families traveling during the summer. She touted the Biden administration’s work to bring down the costs at the pump.
“When you think about $0.85 per month, per family member, you think that doesn’t matter for everyday Americans?” the press secretary continued. “That matters, and the reason we’re seeing that is because of the work that this president has done in the last several months.” (RELATED: Doocy Hammers Jean-Pierre On Admin’s Efforts To Lower Gas Prices)
She credited the president’s tapping of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to release 1 million barrels of crude oil per day until September as an action taken to ease the prices at the pump. Biden promised that prices would come down following the announcement in late March that an average of one million barrels would be released for 180 consecutive days.
“To say that the changes [and] the drop that we have seen at the pump per gallon doesn’t matter, I think that is wrong, I think that is not true and I think that does give a little bit of space of breathing room for families, and it is important,” she said.
Gas prices have dropped for seven weeks straight, and nearly 20 states have had their average cost of gas fall below $4 per gallon, according to a report by GasBuddy. Biden touted the decline in prices in an August 2 tweet, stating that gas prices have decreased by 83 cents since June, which he stated is the fastest decline in a decade.
“The current drop in gas prices continues to be the fastest decline in over a decade. 83 cents down and counting since mid-June,” the president said.
The current drop in gas prices continues to be the fastest decline in over a decade.
83 cents down and counting since mid-June.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 2, 2022
The current national average price of regular gas is $4.113, down from the average of $4.800 in the previous month, according to AAA. The national average cost in August 2021 stood at $3.190.