Jeff Bezos slams Biden for ‘misdirection’ over inflation

Bezos, who is the founder and CEO of Amazon, wrote on Twitter, "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 issued the tweet in response to a tweet from Biden which read, "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."

Biden has noted that Americans should expect to pay higher prices at the gas pump for "as long as it takes, so Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine."

On Fox News Sunday, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby defended Biden against Bezos, saying, "I think we obviously take great exception at the idea that this is somehow misdirection. The President is speaking honestly with the American people about what he's trying to do to bring the price down."

Kirby noted that Biden "was honest, even before the invasion, like, about the fact that it would not be cost free, certainly not cost free to President Putin, but it wouldn't be cost free to the American people to stand up for democracy, to stand up for Ukraine's ability to defend itself."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also came to Biden's aid, condemning Bezos' tweet by noting that while the price of oil has fallen, gas prices have not fallen alongside it.

While Biden and his administration have frequently blamed the increase in prices for gasoline and other items on "Putin's Price Hike," the supply chain and inflation woes of the country began long before Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February.