Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) steamrolled Joe Biden and his failed energy policies on Thursday morning during an event in Miami-Dade. The governor’s remarks came after the president’s letter to American oil companies demanding they increase capacity to offset soaring pain at the pump or else.
DeSantis wasted no time responding, “If you could give me a time machine to go back to January 2021, we’d do the opposite of what Biden has done and we’d be in a better spot.”
He trounced Biden’s campaign promises to “shut down energy production,” “no drilling,” “no oil leases,” and went on to say Biden had “kneecapped American energy production” with damaging policies. The Republican governor confirmed what then-former vice president Joe Biden said in July 2019: there would be no place for fossil fuels in a Biden Administration.
DeSantis continued, “Of course, that’s been a huge driver as to why we now have gas higher than we have ever seen it before, in my lifetime in this country.” The governor noted that everything produced relies on energy. Production and transportation use either gasoline or diesel fuel in some manner.
According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of gasoline stands at $5.00 and diesel fuel at $5.79. AAA also noted these prices are highwater marks, never before seen numbers since they began recording data in 2000.
The Republican governor suggested using multiple local pipelines ranging from the Keystone XL pipeline to Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other states. Still, he pointed out the federal government won’t give permits to build the pipelines. He added that Biden had the controls in his hands.
“If he were to come in and just really, really double down on American energy and have policy to reflect that, look, it would represent a complete 180, he would have to admit he was wrong,” DeSantis said.
On Friday, Chevron joined Exxon Mobil in blasting Biden for his threatening ultimatum.
“We understand the significant concerns around higher fuel prices currently faced by consumers around the country, and the world. We share these concerns, and expect the Administration’s approach to energy policy will start to better reflect the importance of addressing them,” the oil giant’s searing statement lobbed responsibility for addressing the crisis back into the president’s lap.
American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers also responded to Biden’s executive order threat. They noted U.S. refineries are currently operating at 94 percent capacity. These numbers are among the highest utilization rates in the world. In addition, the industry pointed out that oil product pieces are set on the world stage, a global market. They are based on global supply and demand, not by American companies.
The industry representatives addressed Biden’s complaint that the 800,000-barrel capacity reduction had driven costs up. They explained that the shut refineries were converting to renewable fuel production, stating, “These investments cannot be easily or quickly undone.”
The Epoch Times reported that the fossil fuel industry, its investors and its consumers have responded to the current Administration’s policies designed to reduce production and capacity. The policies have promoted replacing fossil fuel-powered transportation with electric vehicles (EVs), the cancellation of oil leases in Alaska, and new lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention canceling the $9 billion Keystone XL Pipeline, which was already under construction.
