Jim Jordan probably should have thought twice before hitting ‘send’ on his latest tweet.
The perpetually-combative congressman from Ohio took a shot at President Biden Monday with a tweet trying to lay the blame on him for current gas prices, which right now average $3.07 per gallon. Here’s the tweet:
The tweet is disingenuous at best, misleading at worst, because one reason gas prices were at that level last year was because the pandemic was raging and demand for fuel was near rock bottom. Jordan surely knows that, but that wasn’t the point of the tweet. It was just another attempt to stir things up and earn some “cheap heat” as they say in pro wrestling, from the MAGA base.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki wasn’t having any of it. She responded a bit later to defend the job Biden has done lifting the country out of the economic woes caused by the pandemic. She included a more apt price comparison, and also a reminder about where the unemployment rate currently stands.
Psaki’s concise takedown earned more than its fair share of clever jabs at Jordan, who’s a popular target for democratic voters on social media. But we think this Twitter user went above and beyond by coining a new verb.
Love the sound of Jen Psaki Katie Portering Jim Jordan this morning
— Exploding Space Burrito Singh, MD 🌊 (@labyrinthweaver) June 21, 2021
Republicans are trying to seize on higher gas prices as a way to find something they can use to hit at the White House as the 2022 midterms draw closer. Comparing the latest gas prices to last year is an easily dismissed complaint, due to basic supply and demand principles. There was plenty of gas last year and no one was using it because fewer people were driving due to COVID protocols. With the vaccines being readily available and states easing restrictions, the demand has predictably spiked.
But in case the gas prices argument doesn’t get any traction, Jordan has already found another approach to try to ding Biden: Infrastructure.