On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” White House Senior Adviser and Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu responded to a question on whether the Biden administration’s message on energy and gas prices is “Just suck up the pain and buy an electric vehicle?” By stating that “Different people say different things different ways. This president understands the pain of the people in the country.”
Host Bret Baier previewed the clips by stating, [relevant exchange begins around 2:35] “When a lot of people listen to some members of the Cabinet, they hear this message that maybe it’s okay, maybe the pain right now is what we need. Here’s just a little compilation of what we heard recently.”
In the clips, White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy said, “[W]e’re not going to sit around waiting for Congress, but we are going to use every tool we can to develop plans that actually achieve those goals.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated, “The more pain we are all experiencing from the high price of gas, the more benefit there is for those who can access electric vehicles.” And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “The way in which we can ensure reasonable energy expenses for households is to move to renewables, to address climate change[.]”
Baier then asked, “Different people hear different things in those soundbites, but, basically, you’re a politician — a former politician. It’s — you’re heading towards November. That’s a tough sell, right? Just suck up the pain and buy an electric vehicle?”
Landrieu responded, “Different people say different things different ways. This president understands the pain of the people in the country. You understand this. He talks about this all the time. He grew up in a household…when the price of gas went up, they felt it. I feel it when I fill my car up. The president knows that. And oh, by the way, for the last 36 days, gas has gone down in a consistent way, in large measure because of the president’s action and he works on this every day. He also works on inflation, which, as you know, was mostly caused by the issue of COVID and, of course, Putin’s war. The president has called business leaders into the country and he really understands this. But, as I said to you, just a moment ago, the president doesn’t have the luxury of just focusing on one problem. He has to focus on all of them and he has to fight for the American people. And that is, in fact, what he is doing. One of the great challenges that we have is that the environment is really starting to stress. It has been stressed and if we don’t fix it, we’re going to continue to have the kind of dangerous impetuses that have been occurring on a more regular basis. And so, the president’s going to use the power that he has to do what is necessary to protect the American people.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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