Biden is 'obsessed' with lowering gas prices, Energy Sec. Granholm tells 'The View'

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm claimed on Thursday that President Biden was "obsessed" with lowering the price of gas and high prices in general.

Apr 18, 2024 - 15:14
Biden is 'obsessed' with lowering gas prices, Energy Sec. Granholm tells 'The View'

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Thursday that President Biden was "obsessed" with lowering gas prices, when pressed on how the president plans to address the rising cost of fuel. 

Co-host of "The View" Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Granholm about gas prices, which she said were on the rise again. "What is the administration doing to lower those prices, and should we be worried about the conflict the Middle East contributing?" she asked. 

Granholm argued that the price of oil was determined by the global market, and cited Russia's invasion of Ukraine as an example of a situation that might cause the price of gas to increase. The energy secretary said Biden was "really focused" on lowering the cost, and touted the president's release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which put more supply on the market. 

"The president is watching this. He’s obsessed with it, and so we’re going to be doing what we can," she told the co-hosts.

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Co-host Joy Behar gleefully asked Granholm, "when are you going to run for president?"

Co-host Sunny Hostin then asked the cabinet secretary about oil companies "gouging" customers. 

"Shouldn't gas companies be better corporate citizens and lower the prices and stop gouging the American people?" Hostin asked. 

The energy secretary said Biden had called on companies to increase supply.

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Earlier in the segment, Granholm said Biden was "obsessed with lowering prices" across the board, and touted tax credits Americans can get by purchasing electric vehicles or through weatherizing their homes. 

Behar also asked, "A new Washington Post poll shows that nearly half of Republicans now believe Trump that climate change is a hoax. How much more evidence do these people need when they see what goes on with hurricanes, etc., how do we convince these people to start believing the truth?"

Granholm argued it was a version of "fake news," and noted a section of the Energy Department's website called, "Malarkey Corner." She said that specific portion of the website seeks to debunk misinformation. 

"The bottom line is, you know, people are seeing every day what’s happening, I mean, every – for the past 10 years, it has been every year, a record year of heat, right? And you’re seeing it globally, the costs of cleaning up after all these extreme weather events, taxpayers are having to pay for that," Granholm continued.

The co-hosts of the ABC show got into a heated back and forth over high gas prices earlier in April. 

During the exchange, Behar told Griffin that she had to vote for Biden, Fox News Digital previously reported.

"People who are like you, who say that you hate, can't stand Trump, you have to vote for Biden," Behar said. 

Griffin shot back and argued that Biden is not "immune" from criticism and said she was raising this issue because she didn't want Trump to win in 2024. While Behar said criticism of the president was fine, she complained that there were "hideous" things on the Republican side of the aisle that were much worse.

"Joy, I would argue Trump won the first time because people weren't always listening and watching the problem for what it was," co-host Sara Haines told Behar, before the show broke for commercial.