A Republican senator who criticized President Joe Biden on social media for high gas prices and his administration’s energy policy is facing a backlash for politicizing U.S. energy production data.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who has endorsed Donald Trump‘s 2024 presidential campaign, posted the following on X on Monday night:
Data shows that crude oil prices are trading just above levels seen during the low-demand pandemic era; gasoline prices are down there too, at less than $3-a-gallon and domestic oil and gas production rates are at all-time highs.
The market price of U.S. Nymex WTI crude currently stands at around $74 a barrel and is higher than the average price during the 2017-2021 Trump presidency, but certainly not sky-high given the effects of wars in and around two major oil producing areas: Russia/Ukraine and the Middle East.