Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 2, 2021. Paul Ellis/Pool via REUTERS
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July 3 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ) founder Jeff Bezos renewed his spat with the White House at the weekend as the world’s third-richest man criticized President Joe Biden for calling on gas station operators to lower their prices.
In a tweet on Saturday, Biden said “this is a time of war and global danger” and demanded that companies cut gasoline prices, which have soared to about $5 a gallon in many parts of the country.
“Reduce the price you charge at the pump to reflect the price you pay for the product. And do it now,” the president said.
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Soon after, Bezos tweeted: “Oh. Inflation is too important an issue for the White House to keep making statements like this. This is either misdirection or a profound misunderstanding of underlying market dynamics.”
On Sunday, White House press secretary Carine Jean-Pierre dismissed Bezos’ criticism, saying oil prices have fallen about $15 a barrel in the past month, while gas station prices have “barely” fallen.
“But I guess it’s no surprise that you think oil and gas companies using market power to extract record profits at the expense of the American people is the way our economy should work,” she tweeted.
Bezos has clashed with the Biden administration in the past. In May, he accused Biden of misleading the public and blamed his administration for the spike in inflation. Read more
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Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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