Jeff Bezos says Joe Biden's call to cut gas prices is either 'straight-ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics'
- Jeff Bezos has questioned Joe Biden's demand for lower gas prices.
- The Amazon founder and the President have been waging a war about the root causes of inflation.
Jeff Bezos has blasted Joe Biden's call to cut gas prices as either "straight-ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics" in a tweet.
The Amazon founder was responding to a tweet by the President warning gas sellers gas not to take advantage of the Ukraine war to push up 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," Biden tweeted. "Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you're paying for the product. And do it now."
Bezos responded by quote-tweeting Biden: "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."
Democrats have been at odds with oil companies as the price of fuel soars against tight supply chains and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Gas prices are averaging $4.81 a gallon, compared with $3.12 last year, according to the AAA.
Congress recently put forward a price-gouging bill to prevent companies from pushing up the price of gas to maintain profit levels. Larry Summers told Bloomberg the move was "dangerous."
Bezos's comments are the latest in a feud on over inflation between the pair stretching back to May, during which he has accused Biden of disinformation for blaming large corporations for rising prices.
While drawing the ire of Bezos, Biden's tweet also won the praise of Chinese state media.
Chen Weihua, a European reporter for the state-owned China Daily newspaper, tweeted: "Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation. He didn't believe this before."
The White House recently called for a three-month gas tax holiday to combat rising prices, but it too has run into opposition and was previously derided by Barack Obama as a "gimmick".