CNN panelists pointed to President Biden on Thursday after his push for a national gas-tax party to address record prices appeared to disappoint top lawmakers in his own party.
CNN presenter John King began the discussion by noting that several top Democrats had “reviewed and rejected” the idea, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), The majority leader. of the House, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Biden’s close ally, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.).
“Can you help me here? That a Democratic president, his party is in trouble. He has problems in an election year,” King said. “He has an important policy announcement and his own party is pouring into it in a matter of seconds.”
Pelosi did not approve Biden’s proposal, but said “we will see where the consensus lies on the way forward” for the gas tax party. Both Hoyer and Coons questioned whether the proposal could secure enough votes in Congress.
Mediaite first reported on CNN’s panel comment.
CNN political analyst Jackie Kucinich agreed, noting that it was strange that the Biden administration had not reached a consensus with major Democrats in advance.
Leading Democratic lawmakers were lukewarm at the thought of a gas tax party. CNN
“It’s almost as if he should have been run by a couple of people like, like calling his friend Chris Coons, who is basically Biden’s whisperer on the hill, and they were just running it,” Kucinich said. “But no, listen, some Democrats are expressing concern that this is hurting the road trust fund right after approving all of these infrastructure projects.”
“Also, there is no guarantee that oil companies will pass on the savings to consumers, and there are many Democrats who say oil companies are to blame for all this,” Kucinich added. “I don’t know if there was any bad communication or what that was, but it’s clear the White House wants to do anything to lower the price on the bomb or at least look like they’re trying to do something.”
King added that Biden’s “business card” while running for president was his ability to “get things done” on the political front.
CNN presenter John King suggested the lack of support was embarrassing for Biden. CNN gas prices have risen to a national average of about $ 5 per gallon. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“This is the number one problem for Americans, inflation and gas prices are a big part of that,” King said. “Isn’t it embarrassing for the president of the United States that his party says ‘Go away’?
Washington Post national political correspondent Olivier Knox responded by noting that former President Barack Obama, with whom Biden served as vice president, denounced the concept of a gasoline tax party as a “trick.” in 2008.
“It’s not great for this White House that a three-second Internet search shows a video of Barack Obama disregarding the idea of lowering the gas tax. That’s not great for them,” Knox said. “So there’s a bit of muscle memory in the Democratic Party against this proposal.”
President Biden has called for a three-month break in the gas tax. Getty Images
Critics have argued that lowering the gas tax would do little to address the underlying problem. As reported by The Post, Target CEO Brian Cornell noted that the idea could even aggravate prices by increasing demand.
Biden called on Congress to suspend the federal gas tax for three months as part of efforts to reduce prices that have risen to record highs.
“By suspending the 18-cent federal gas tax for the next 90 days, we can reduce the price of gas and give some relief to families,” Biden said Wednesday.