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The Daily Show host Trevor Noah has said that Joe Biden's presidency could hang on gas prices.
In a segment on the show on Monday, Noah discussed the pressure the president is facing to combat soaring fuel prices across the country.
Gas prices have jumped to their highest level in seven years amid high crude oil prices and as Americans face the steepest inflation since 1990. The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.41 on Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
On November 10, the president said lowering consumer prices was his "top priority." But experts say he has few options when it comes to curbing the price of gas.
On Monday night, Noah said gas prices were "all people care about."
"The big question is, what can be done to lower gas prices? Well, the bad news for President Biden is not much," Noah said.
"What's tough for Biden is that it doesn't matter what else he does. If the price of gas stays high, that's that. He could sign all the infrastructure bills he wants, he could get everyone to agree on abortion but all people care about is, how much is the black goo from the ground? Higher than before? Then get the f**k out of here. So it's not exaggerating to say that his whole presidency, his entire presidency, could depend on whether gas prices stay up or go down."
In November, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied oil-producing countries rebuffed pressure from Biden to pump significantly more oil, which would have lowered gas prices for Americans.
Since then, U.S. lawmakers have called on the president to take aggressive action to alleviate gas prices. They suggested the president consider releasing barrels from the emergency stockpile known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve or take the more drastic step of banning crude oil exports.
At a press briefing on Friday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the Biden administration was "looking at every tool in our arsenal" on gas prices.
"The message to Americans is that we're not just closely and directly monitoring the situation—which, of course, we've been doing—but we're looking at every tool in our arsenal," she said.
"We have taken a range of actions. We've communicated with the [Federal Trade Commission] to crack down on illegal pricing; are engaging with countries and entities abroad, like OPEC, on increasing supply; and we're looking at a range of options we have at our disposal."
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more