On Sunday, the Associated Press made quite a bold claim when it comes to gas prices. In advertising a piece over Twitter, the outlet claimed the average price of gas in the United States had "plunged 19 cents over the past two weeks." That average price is still close to $5.00, though, at $4.86 per gallon. Such a claim is also the opening line of the piece.
The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline plunged 19 cents over the past two weeks to $4.86 per gallon. https://t.co/a0WuMxetZi
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 10, 2022
The piece does acknowledge that gas is still higher than it was last year. "The average price at the pump is down 24 cents over the past month, but it’s $1.66 higher than it was one year ago," it reads. "Nationwide, the highest average price for regular-grade gas was in the San Francisco Bay Area, at $6.14 per gallon. The lowest average was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at $4.19 per gallon," the piece also points out.
According to AAA, gas prices are at their highest in California, where the average cost per gallon as of July 11 is at $6.088. The highest recorded average came on June 24 of this year, when the average cost per gallon was at $5.016.
Our friends at Twitchy highlighted some of the best responses in pointing out how ridiculous it was for the Associated Press to go so far as to say prices have "plunged."
Awesome to see gas prices "plunged" to only two or three dollars higher per gallon than they were on election night! pic.twitter.com/XEUahFNfL7
— Aldous Huxley's Ghost™ (@AF632) July 10, 2022
They are really trying to sell us on "plunged" or falling prices over the whole month. It's still nearly twice what it was 2 years ago. Rejoice and celebrate! ??https://t.co/ag0E93agOf
— Kel in Cali (@KinCali1) July 10, 2022
Imagine being the AP celebrating $4.86 for gas , what's next celebrating middle class can now afford peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner ?
— Dr Keeneland Dan (@fatbaldguyracin) July 11, 2022
"plunged" ...it's still at least $2 too high.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) July 11, 2022
A piece from The Hill on Monday night also addressed gas prices, more in depth. As Rachel Frazin pointed out, "prices have ticked up in a handful of states" as well.
"And while prices dropped in 46 states since the national peak last month, four states actually saw upticks: Wyoming saw a 6 cent increase, Hawaii and Idaho both saw 8 cent increases, and Utah saw a 17 cent increase," she added.
The White House certainly seized the opportunity to discuss this modest drop during Monday's press briefing, complete with a chart about the price of crude oil and gasoline. "The average retail price of gas was 11 percent higher in June than it was in May and the cost of gas in July is already down 7 percent from the June peak," White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre shared.
In pointing out, though, that "even though gas prices shot up quickly when oil prices rose, they have not come down as quickly as oil has," Jean-Pierre repeated the narrative from this administration that has been to blame oil and gas companies. "We continue to call on oil and gas companies to pass on their lower costs to consumers," she continued, as she also claimed "the president's number one economic priority is taking inflation."
As Leah highlighted last month, gas and oil companies haven't taken too kindly to Biden placing the blame on them.
In covering Monday's press briefing, Spencer focused on how the "WH Finally Admits Biden Doesn't Pay Attention to the Pain His Policies Cause Americans," based off of Jean-Pierre's tone-deaf answers about the White House not paying attention to the catastrophic poll numbers. She also acknowledged that they expect the coming Consumer Price Index to be "highly elevated," though astonishingly still continued to claim "we have a strong economy."
Polls indicate that not only do Americans not approve of the way President Joe Biden is handling his job, but that they especially do not approve of how he is handling gas prices or the economy overall. According to data from RealClearPolitics (RCP), Biden has just a 33.2 percent approval rating on the economy, while 62 percent disapprove.