Dems Celebrate 2 Cent Drop in Gas Price

Gas has gone up a dollar since Biden took office

Collin Anderson • December 2, 2021 5:15 pm

Democrats did a victory lap Thursday after gas prices dropped two cents per gallon in the last two weeks—ignoring the fact that the price for a gallon of gas has gone up a full dollar since President Joe Biden took office.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) shared a graph Thursday showing that the average price for a gallon of gas decreased from $3.40 to $3.38 between Nov. 15 and Nov. 29. “Thanks, Joe Biden,” the DCCC tweeted.

Over the course of Biden’s presidency, however, the average price per gallon has increased by a full dollar. On Jan. 22—two days after Biden’s inauguration—the average price for a gallon of gas stood at $2.40. That price rose to $3.42 by Nov. 20.

Thanks, @JoeBiden. pic.twitter.com/0iHwTLv7fB

— DCCC (@dccc) December 2, 2021

Biden attempted to lower gas prices in late November by releasing 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The United States alone consumed an average of 18 million barrels of oil per day in 2020, meaning Biden released enough oil to last less than three days. While the White House said the move reflected the president’s “commitment to do everything in his power to bring down costs for the American people,” Biden acknowledged that it would not “solve the problems of high gas prices” anytime soon.

This is not the first time Democrats have attempted to tout modest price decreases as they face backlash from voters over widespread inflation. Over the summer, the White House issued a tweet celebrating a 16-cent decrease in the cost of a 4th of July cookout from 2020 to 2021.

“Hot dog, the Biden economic plan is working,” the White House said. “And that’s something we can all relish.”