As Americans watch the power of their dollars dwindle, a tweet from President Joe Biden blaming gas stations for skyrocketing pump prices was blasted by billionaire Jeff Bezos for its “straight ahead misdirection,” sparking an avalanche of wide-ranging reactions on Twitter.
On Saturday, as thousands of Americans sat in airports waiting to discover if their Fourth of July holiday flights were just delayed or canceled altogether, and as the national price of gas hovered at $4.82, President Biden demanded that gas stations lower their 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,” he 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.”
In response, the Amazon CEO called into question the White House’s integrity and understanding of the way things work.
“Ouch,” Bezos tweeted. “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.”
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. https://t.co/XgKfEICZpk
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) July 3, 2022
While neither explanation is good — and a surprising variety of people agreed with his assessment — that the observation came from Bezos was enough for Twitter to erupt.
Senator Ted Cruz (R – TX) and Laptop from Hell author Miranda Devine were left wide-eyed.
https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1543427320547082242?s=20&t=1cYhR80b88u-kYCKI_NPlw
— Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 3, 2022
Many were quick to point out that Bezos is, at least in part, responsible for putting Biden in the White House to begin with.
“Bezos criticizing Biden is ironic because: as a company, Amazon overwhelmingly supports Biden; Bezos pours hundreds of millions of dollars into the Democratic Party’s machine; Bezos owns the Washington Post, which does nothing but run cover for Biden,” noted one user, adding, “You get what you deserve.”
You get what you deserve pic.twitter.com/2D9DBpk2HF
— Pedro L. Gonzalez (@emeriticus) July 3, 2022
“Buyer’s remorse,” replied Edward Snowden.
Buyer's remorse. https://t.co/DnFaklB9bX
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) July 3, 2022
Others, including comedian Rob Schneider saw Bezos’s tweet as a tipping point in Biden’s presidency.
“When you lose liberal billionaire/Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, you have lost the ideological War,” Schneider stated. “If the Biden administration is out of touch with Billionaires, imagine how the average American worker feels…”
When you lose liberal billionaire/Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, you have lost the ideological War.
If the Biden administration is out of touch with Billionaires, imagine how the average American worker feels… https://t.co/Dblfsg8Xys— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) July 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/akafacehots/status/1543466656860557313?s=20&t=1cYhR80b88u-kYCKI_NPlw
When you lose Jeff Bezos you know you are in trouble @JoeBiden… https://t.co/KvyXGEGFqx
— David Giglio (@DavidGiglioCA) July 3, 2022
But, as New York Times contributor Allan Richarz and others pointed out, Bezos could be doing more than just tweeting about the President’s “misdirection.”
“If only you owned an influential paper that could hold the administration’s feet to the fire, rather than running its ninth ‘Orange Man Bad’ story of the day…” Richarz retorted.
If only you owned an influential paper that could hold the administration’s feet to the fire, rather than running its ninth “Orange Man Bad” story of the day…
— Allan (@AllanRicharz) July 3, 2022
Davos Bro Balding echoed the sentiment.
“If only reasonable randos like this had media influence so we weren’t subject to garbage outlets like WaPo telling us inflation isn’t that bad or that we should just suck it up,” he stated.
If only reasonable randos like this had media influence so we weren't subject to garbage outlets like WaPo telling us inflation isn't that bad or that we should just suck it up https://t.co/HFgJECjOgO
— Davos Bro Balding 大老板 (@BaldingsWorld) July 3, 2022
Still others thought Bezos’s criticism of Biden should mark the start of his own presidential run.
Next #POTUS?
Why not?#Bezos has the funding, the lobbyists, the media, and some serious credibility on his side. https://t.co/10WEG5n8Ak— Anuraag Saxena (@anuraag_saxena) July 3, 2022
He’s running for president https://t.co/kty870eCO5
— jason@calacanis.com (@Jason) July 3, 2022
Meanwhile, Bezos wasn’t the only one slamming Biden for his demand to gas station owners.
Chen Weihua, the EU bureau chief for China Daily, run by the CCP, sarcastically praised the president for finally grasping the truth about capitalism.”
“Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation,” he tweeted. “He didn’t believe this before.”
Now US President finally realized that capitalism is all about exploitation. He didn’t believe this before.
— Chen Weihua （陈卫华） (@chenweihua) July 2, 2022
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Writers and editors can be contacted at writers@bizpcreview.com with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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