KJP Can’t Answer: If Biden Gets Credit for Gas Going Down, Why Not Blame for Gas Going Up? No More SPR Releases Planned

On 10/4/2022, Doocy caught the central contradiction in the administration’s gas price messaging: “You’ve said the president was responsible for gas prices coming down. Is the president responsible for gas prices going up?” KJP said “it’s a lot more nuanced than that.” With gas at $6.41 in California, KJP confirmed no additional SPR releases were planned beyond the 180 million barrels already committed. A reporter asked if the administration had exhausted its “good options” — KJP could only say they would “continue to do everything we can.”

The Credit-But-Not-Blame Problem

Doocy posed the question that encapsulated months of messaging gymnastics. “You’ve said the president was responsible for gas prices coming down. Is the president responsible for gas prices going up?”

“It’s a lot more nuanced than that, right, Peter? There have been global challenges that we have all dealt with,” KJP said. She cited the summer decline as evidence of Biden’s effectiveness: “We saw that every day this summer — saving American families over a dollar per gallon.”

“There are consumers now in California paying $6.41 a gallon. Nevada $5.51. Oregon $5.46. Who can afford that?” Doocy pressed.

“We understand that there’s more work to do. We have never said we were done here,” KJP said. “But the reality is we have seen the fastest decline in gasoline prices in over a decade. That’s because of what this president has done.”

The exchange exposed the administration’s asymmetric accountability: Biden took credit when prices fell but pointed to “global challenges” when they rose.

No More SPR Releases

KJP confirmed the SPR tap was ending. “We’re not considering new releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beyond the 180 million barrels that the president announced months ago,” KJP said. The one-million-barrels-per-day release would end in November.

“Does the president expect gas prices to rise then?” a reporter asked.

“We’re going to continue to do everything that we can to give Americans a little bit of breathing room,” KJP said — without answering the question.

Saudi Trip: “Not About Oil”

A reporter reminded KJP of Biden’s promise during his Saudi Arabia trip. “The president said ‘I’m doing all I can to increase the supply.’ What happened?” the reporter asked.

“We have said that his trip to the Middle East was not about oil. It was about America’s position in the Middle East,” KJP said — retroactively reframing a trip that Biden himself had pitched as partly about energy.

”Are the Good Options Exhausted?”

A reporter asked the question the administration dreaded. “Now that prices are going back up, is the White House confident that it has the policy tools remaining to drive them back down — or are all the good options essentially exhausted?”

“We’re going to do everything that we can here in the administration to lower costs for Americans,” KJP said. She cited the continuing SPR release through November and a meeting where the president’s team “emphasized that energy companies with record high profits, record high exports, and record low inventories must step up.”

The answer — threatening oil companies while admitting no new policy tools were available — suggested the administration had indeed run out of options.

Key Takeaways

Doocy asked why Biden gets credit for gas going down but not blame for gas going up; KJP said “it’s more nuanced” and cited “global challenges.”
Gas was $6.41 in California, $5.51 in Nevada, and $5.46 in Oregon — well above pre-Biden levels despite the summer decline.
No additional SPR releases were planned beyond the 180 million barrels already committed, ending in November.
KJP retroactively said the Saudi trip “was not about oil” despite Biden pitching it partly as an energy trip.
A reporter asked if the “good options are exhausted”; KJP could only promise to “continue to do everything we can.”

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

Biden was responsible for gas prices coming down. Is he responsible for gas going up? It’s a lot more nuanced than that.
California $6.41, Nevada $5.51, Oregon $5.46. Who can afford that? We understand there’s more work to do.
We’re not considering new releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve beyond the 180 million barrels.
The Saudi trip was not about oil. It was about America’s position in the Middle East.
Are the good options exhausted? We’re going to do everything we can. Energy companies must step up.
The fastest decline in gasoline prices in over a decade. That’s because of this president.

Full transcript: 772 words transcribed via Whisper AI.