'Russia, Russia, Russia': Biden blames Putin for surging gas prices, claims Americans must endure hardship to help Ukraine

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Americans' pain at the gas pump will not be lifted anytime soon, as U.S. President Joe Biden says that prices will remain high for “as long as it takes” for Ukraine to beat Russia. 

Speaking before an audience of journalists in Spain on Thursday, where Biden attended the annual NATO summit alongside other heads of state, the president was asked by a New York Times reporter about whether he had any plans to fix the surging price of gas.

As detailed by the reporter, Jim Tankersly, the cost of oil has been going up as a result of Western sanctions on Russia in response to its February invasion of Ukraine.

“The war has pushed prices up. [Oil] could go as high as $200 a barrel, some analysts think,” Tankersley told the president. “How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?”

“As long as it takes,” Biden replied. “Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine.”

🚨: NY Times' Jim Tankersley asks Biden, "How long is it fair to expect American drivers to pay that premium" for the war in Ukraine?

Biden: "As long as it takes." pic.twitter.com/PnRX95xT48

— John Cooper (@thejcoop) June 30, 2022

“This is a critical, critical position for the world,” the president continued. “Here we are. Why do we have NATO? I told Putin that, in fact, if we were to move [against Ukraine], we would move to strengthen NATO. We would move to strengthen NATO across the board.”

Speaking at the press conference, Biden reiterated his claims that “Russia, Russia, Russia” was the only reason for the surge in gas prices and food shortages. He blamed wheat deliveries from Ukraine as well as oil and natural gas deliveries to Europe on Russia’s actions. 

“The bottom line is, ultimately the reason why gas prices are up is because of Russia. Russia, Russia, Russia,” the president stated. “The reason why the food crisis exists is because of Russia.”

In addition to blaming Russia, Biden repeated his factually incorrect claims that inflation was lower in the United States than other developed nations.

“We have the strongest economy in the world. Our inflation rates are lower than other nations in the world,” he said. 

“I can understand why the American people are frustrated because of inflation. But inflation is higher in almost every other country,” Biden stressed. 

America’s annual inflation rate has risen to a high of 8.6% in May, which is the highest it has been since 1981. In contrast, the Eurozone’s monthly average is at 8.1%, followed by Canada at 7.7%, and Japan at 2.5%.

One of the only countries to exceed America’s inflation numbers is the United Kingdom, which is at 9.1%. Other European countries fared much better, with Germany sitting at 7.9% and France at 5.8%, respectively. 

Biden said that he intends to fix the price of gas by suspending the federal gas tax for several months, and asked states to follow through with his plan. The suspension of the federal gas tax is expected to lower the cost of gas by around 18 cents per gallon.