President Joe Biden told reporters he hadn’t decided whether or not to go to Saudi Arabia to beg for more oil, but then said he was planned a trip there seconds later.
A reporter asks Biden, “Have you decided whether or not to go to Saudi Arabia?”
‘No, not yet,’ the president replies on camera.
But moments later as Biden spoke on the tarmac in Los Angeles at the foot of Air Force One, the president said that he was in fact going.
‘What would be holding up the decision at this point? Are there commitments from the Saudis you’re waiting for?’
‘It happens to be a larger meeting taking place in Saudi Arabia. That’s the reason I’m going’, he said. ‘It has to do with national security with the Israelis. It has to do with much larger issues than the energy.’
According to a source familiar with the plans, the White House is expected to announce the trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel this week.
According to the source, Biden’s trip, which is anticipated to begin in mid-July, might include a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Biden’s travel to Israel and Saudi Arabia is being planned, according to a representative for the National Security Council. ‘We don’t have any other trip specifics to confirm, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do,’ added the spokeswoman.
According to the White House, Biden considers Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a ‘pariah’ for his role in the killing of a political opponent, Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, in Turkey in 2018.
The assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul tarnished the crown prince’s image as a reformer. His role has been rejected by the Saudi authorities.
The trip would be aimed at improving relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when Biden is attempting to reduce fuel prices in the US.
Gas prices have risen sharply in recent months as a result of Russia’s continuous aggression against Ukraine and the sanctions placed by Western countries on Russian oil, which have pushed more than 1 million barrels of oil off world markets.
President Joe Biden stated in March that the US would impose a ban on Russian oil and natural gas, warning Americans that “defending freedom will come at a cost.”
However, gas prices were already high at the time due to increasing demand as the economy recovered from the COVID-related shutdowns, as well as increased travel demand as the summer approached.
At the same time, as demand decreased due to the epidemic, numerous oil firms shuttered a number of refineries.
According to the New York Times, the national average price of gasoline topped $5 per gallon on Saturday, up 60 cents from a month ago and nearly two dollars from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the average gas price was above $4 in all 50 states – and in California, it was over $6 per gallon, while in Minnesota, it was $4.72.
According to energy experts, every penny that the price of gasoline rises costs Americans an additional $4 million each day, with the average American paying $450 per month for their fuel demands.
Furthermore, according to research conducted by the Bank of America Institute, which uses anonymous data from millions of their customers’ credit and debit card accounts, petrol consumption consumes a higher portion of consumers’ budgets, limiting their ability to purchase other things.
In the last week of May, lower-income households – defined as those with incomes below $50,000 – spent over 10% of all credit and debit card spending, according to a research released this week by the institute.
This is up from around 7.5 percent in February, indicating a significant growth in such a short time.