'Register for Econ 101': US Energy Producers Grill Biden's 'WH Intern' After Call to Lower Gas Price

President Joe Biden has been pitching desperate options as he battles runaway inflation and soaring energy prices, tweeting on Saturday that "companies running gas stations" should take note that "this is a time of war and global peril", as he urged them to “bring down” costs charged at the pump.

The US Oil & Gas Association torched President Joe Biden for his Twitter post imploring that "companies running gas stations" should simply "bring down the price you are charging at the pump".

Working on it Mr. President. In the meantime - have a Happy 4th and please make sure the WH intern who posted this tweet registers for Econ 101 for the fall semester... https://t.co/6yLpbDDRKc

— US Oil & Gas Association (@US_OGA) July 3, 2022

US energy producers tweeted that they were “working on it”, while suggesting that the 79-year-old Democratic POTUS ensures that the WH intern who posted his tweet “registers for Econ 101 for the fall semester”.

Biden had tweeted a “message” amid rampant inflation and rocketing energy prices on Saturday, warning that "this is a time of war and global peril" as he suggested petrol station owners unilaterally reduce their prices

Biden's tweet came as gas prices per gallon averaged $4.812 nationwide - up 5 cents from one month ago. In some states, however, prices are much higher: in California, for example, the average price per gallon reached $6.244, and Illinois inhabitants are having to pay $5.325.

The President's tweet triggered a response from several quarters, including billionaire Jeff Bezos, who slammed it for showing a lack of understanding of how a market economy works.

The US entrepreneur, media proprietor and investor tweeted that President Biden’s statement appeared to reflect “either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics".

Texas’ Republican Senator Ted Cruz also weighed in, poking fun at the person "behind Biden's speeches".

He went on Twitter to address the “guy running your teleprompter”, saying it was time to reverse “dozens of executive orders, regulations and agency actions targeting American energy”. In the GOP senator’s opinion, that would be a way to flatten gas prices.

Joe Biden has consistently deflected blame for the increase in gas prices to Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid Moscow’s ongoing special military operation to de-Nazify Ukraine. The leap in gasoline prices has coincided with a period of exorbitant oil prices which have risen in no small measure because of the US and EU's ban on Russian oil imports as part of their swingeing sanctions targeting Moscow.

Biden, who has bandied about the term, "Putin's Price Hike" while denying that it is the fall-out from his own policies against fossil fuels which is to blame, has also been forced to urge US companies to extract more oil and refine it into gasoline. However, his plea to the two industries has seemingly fallen on deaf ears.

This comes as inflation hit a new 40-year high last month at a rate of 8.6 percent - the highest since December 1981 and energy prices rose 34.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics - the sharpest rise since September 2005.

With his popularity plummeting disastrously ahead of the November mid-terms, Biden floated a proposal from the Oval Office for Congress and state legislatures to implement a 90-day gas tax holiday.

"By suspending the 18-cent gas tax, federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can bring down the price of gas and give families just a little bit of relief," Biden said in a speech from the White House.

However, members of his own party and Republicans appeared opposed to the tax reprieve, making it look unlikely on the federal level.

US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio rejected the idea of a gas tax holiday.

“This policy would at best achieve only minuscule relief while blowing a $10 billion hole in the Highway Trust Fund that would need to be filled if we want to continue to fix crumbling bridges, address the spike in traffic deaths, and build a modern infrastructure system,” the Oregon Democrat said in a statement.