Was the price of gasoline $5 a gallon when President Joe Biden took office in January 2021? No, that's not true: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website says a gallon of regular unleaded gas was only going for close to $2.33, on average, at that time. For September 2022, the most recent month government statistics were available at the time of this report, the same type of fuel sold for $3.88, a 66.5 percent increase over the administration's starting point. Gasoline prices peaked at over $5 a gallon in the summer of 2022.
The claim appeared in a video posted to Twitter (archived here) by The White House on October 27, 2022. At about the 22:35 mark in the video, Biden says:
And because of the actions we've taken, gas prices are declining. We're down $1.25 since the peak at this summer, and they've been falling for the last three weeks as well ... and adding up real savings for families. Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39, down from over $5 when I took office.
This is what the post looked like on Twitter at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Fri Oct 28 17:35:13 2022 UTC)
Live from New York
The White House streamed the president's remarks live from Micron Technology, where he delivered remarks on the company's plan to invest in chip manufacturing in upstate New York. Biden also took time to tout what he saw as his administration's economic accomplishments. Some of his numbers on gasoline prices were right. Some were wrong.
And because of the actions we've taken, gas prices are declining. We're down $1.25 since the peak at this summer, and they've been falling for the last three weeks as well ... and adding up real savings for families. Today, the most common price of gas in America is $3.39, down from over $5 when I took office.
Point by point
All the comparison data comes from the BLS website. The president's claims are addressed below:
- Gas prices are declining. True.
- We're down $1.25 since the peak at this summer. Close enough. Prices have fallen nearly $1.18 since June 2022.
- The most common price of gas in America is $3.39. False. For September 2022, the most recent month with available government data, the average price was $3.88.
- Over $5 when I took office. False, not even close. In January 2021, unleaded regular went for $2.33. Perhaps, the president was thinking of the summer 2022 peak when pump prices hit nearly $5.06.
BLS data chart
The green box is January 2021, the start of the Biden administration. Red is September 2022. Blue is June 2022, the peak of gasoline prices through this point of the Biden presidency.
(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics screenshot taken on Fri Oct 28 21:18:42 2022 UTC)
