Jeff Bezos Slammed Biden Over Tweet About Gas Prices

Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has a bone to pick with President Joe Biden — again. Months after an earlier spat about a corporate tax proposition, Bezos is targeting Biden for his words on gas prices and inflation.

Here’s what Bezos said about Biden’s perspective on gas prices and inflation (and what the billionaire thinks Biden should do about these issues).

Biden tweeted on Saturday, July 2, “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. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you’re paying for the product. And do it now.”

In response to Biden’s tweet, Bezos said, “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.”

Bezos, worth $133 billion as of July 5, wasn’t the only one flaunting the opinion that Biden’s statement is misdirection. A partner at venture capital firm Benchmark and fellow billionaire Bill Gurley responded to Bezos’ tweet, stating, “I totally agree with this. Whatever your politics is, we cannot ignore the past three hundred years of economic research and understanding. People argue they are on the side of 'science.' Let’s use the education we all have. Please.”

The disagreement comes as average U.S. gas prices hover around $4.80 per gallon and inflation maintains its brute force against the American consumer.

In May, Bezos targeted Biden, also for “misdirection” but over something different: higher corporate taxes on the wealthy. While both issues trace back to an economy with record-high inflation, the current spat puts gas prices at the forefront.

After the latest Twitter interaction, it’s safe to say Bezos doesn't agree with Biden’s management of critical economic matters.

The Biden administration couldn’t let Bezos get the last word. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre highlighted a gap in wholesale oil prices and what consumers are paying. Jean-Pierre tweeted, “Oil prices have dropped by about $15 over the past month, but prices at the pump have barely come down. That's not 'basic market dynamics.' It's a market that is failing the American consumer.”

Jean-Pierre got even spicier with a direct dig at the second-wealthiest person on earth, writing, “I guess it’s not surprising that you think oil and gas companies using market power to reap record profits at the expense of the American people is the way our economy is supposed to work.”

Bezos has lost about $65.3 billion in 2022 during the market downturn, marking a shift in momentum for billionaires who gained tremendously during earlier pandemic years. Still, Jean-Pierre suggests Bezos remains out of touch with an economy that favors poor, working, and middle class consumers over egregiously wealthy individuals and corporations.

That’s not to say Biden’s response is perfect, and the feud between Bezos and Biden feels juvenile in a sense. Unfortunately, it’s based on an argument that impacts those outside of the higher classes each of them represents in varying capacities.