United States Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas/Cancun) claimed on Friday that President Joe Biden came into office with the objective of sabotaging American energy production. His remarks came as gas prices around the world soar amid the embargo on fossil fuels from Russia – which he endorsed and supported.
“On energy, we’ve seen since pretty much the instant Joe Biden became president, we’ve seen the price of energy going up and up and up. We’ve seen the price of oil going up and up; we’ve seen the price of natural gas going up and up; we’ve seen the price of gasoline going up and up, and that’s not a surprise. That is cause and effect,” the Senator said on Verdict With Michael Knowles, a right-wing YouTube show. “Biden came in with an aggressive agenda designed to weaken and to cripple domestic energy production.”
It’s not a surprise that the price of gas has skyrocketed.
It’s cause and effect.
Biden came into office with an aggressive agenda to cripple American energy production. #Verdict https://t.co/giBr4cEkrl pic.twitter.com/z4akchd9pb
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 11, 2022
Cruz’s distortion of reality is remarkable but totally on-brand. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was the catalyst for the ban on Russian energy imports, however, the United States – a net exporter of energy – only brought in roughly three percent of its oil from Russia.
The true culprit of skyrocketing gas prices is the monopolistic grasp that fossil fuel corporations have on the global energy market. They continue to rake in billions of dollars in record profits while American consumers struggle to pay at the pump.
Biden has also championed investments in renewables (which would make the United States more energy independent and save the planet from climate catastrophe). But Cruz and his right-wing caucus – aided by conservative Democratic Senators Joe “Coal Baron” Manchin of West Viri and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – have railroaded Biden’s policy initiatives. Why? Because they are bankrolled by the very companies that are benefiting from higher energy costs.
Reactions were expectedly harsh.
It’s supply and demand, nice try. pic.twitter.com/5yS3m669Pr
— Glenn C 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇫🇷 (@gleennertalk) March 11, 2022
Nope. That’s not it. Try again.
— Wyle E Coyote, Super Genius (@5150merica) March 11, 2022
Ted Cruz fails Grade 1 Science pic.twitter.com/1dKgxXFgjk
— 𝔸𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖 ℍ𝕚𝕘𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕤 (@Abba_Annabelle) March 11, 2022
Remember when the previous admin had to bail out the oil industry because our fuel was worthless on the foreign market? https://t.co/Yuv3MRN9GC
— SOKYJBOY (@sokyjboy_john) March 11, 2022
Incorrect. The price of gas based on speculation of future supply and demand. Oil companies cut production in 2020 when covid hit and oil hit $20 a barrel. They have yet to increase production, even though the have the ability, and even though we are reducing importation.
— Lil 501 (@lil_501) March 11, 2022
— Seth Yoder ☮️ (@seth_yoder) March 11, 2022
