Barrasso: Democrats have ‘very big problem’ with inflation, gasoline prices

Sen. John Barrasso said Sunday that President Biden and Democrats are scrambling to find a scapegoat for rising inflation and gasoline prices.

The Wyoming Republican said Mr. Biden “can’t hide from the fact that he is the president of high gas prices.”

“They are looking for anyone to blame — whether it is Putin, whether it is Republicans, whether it is energy companies, whether it is COVID,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The Democrats have a very big problem with 40-year high inflation, [and the] highest gas price ever.” 

“When Joe Biden came into office it was $2.38 a gallon for gasoline,” Mr. Barrasso said. “American families paid $1,000 more for energy last year than the year before.”

Republicans have called on the Biden administration to increase domestic oil production and claimed that Democrats’ focus on climate change has added to the current problems.

Mr. Biden has said that globalization has fueled inflation, and has blamed it in part on the recent economic sanctions against Russia.

The president also has advocated for expanding the nation’s manufacturing sector, saying that making more things in the United States “is one of the ways we can address our cost and supply chain challenges.”