'Blame Biden': Man Baffled by 'Bold' Gas Charge After Ride Home

A New York City man was stunned by an acquaintance's request for less than $3.00 in gas money after she drove him home, he said in a video that went viral this week. She blamed President Biden for having to make the request.

"Friends of friends getting way too bold," Peter Pierdinock captioned the TikTok video on Tuesday. His clip swiftly racked up 1.6 million views and thousands of comments roasting his penny-pinching acquaintance.

In March, a third of Americans said they would blame rising gas prices on Biden, according to a Yahoo News/YouGov poll. A smaller proportion of 22 percent put the blame on oil and gas companies, while 17 percent said that Russia was responsible. Russia's invasion of Ukraine led the U.S. and Europe to ban Russian oil imports, driving up gas prices across the globe.

The Request

Pierdinock displayed a screenshot of messages from the woman identified only as Julia.

"Heyyyy it's Julia," said her first text. She followed up with, "What's [your] venmo?? I need to charge [you] like $2.47 for driving [you] home last night."

"Also what's [your] roommate's venmo," added a third message. "Gas is so [pricey] hehe don't blame me blame Biden!!!!"

Gas Prices

The average price of gas in the U.S. stood at $4.47 on Wednesday, according to the American Automobile Association. Pump prices have steadily fallen from a record high average of over $5.00 in June, amid lower domestic demand for gas and a lower global price for oil.

However, some energy analysts have warned that prices will spike again as soon as October, ahead of a European Union decision to ban nearly all oil from Russia. Those sanctions will take effect in December.

Two-thirds of Americans said last month that skyrocketing gas prices were causing them financial hardship, according to a Gallup poll. Twenty-two percent of respondents said they were experiencing "severe hardship."

The Reaction

Pierdinock's viewers were as stunned by Julia's trivial gas charge as he was, filling his comments section with incredulous reactions.

"My life could rely on that $2.47 [and] I'd still be too embarrassed to really ask someone for that amount back," opined one commenter.

"BLOCK," advised another. "Like...[yeah] gas is expensive but three dollars? [You] can't be [for real]."

Several others were taken aback by her "blame Biden" remark.

"The worst part of this for me is the 'blame Biden' comment at the end," one viewer said. "In [British Columbia] gas got up to almost $10/gallon. Is that his fault too??"

Newsweek reached out to Pierdinock for comment.