Tbh Biden did set himself up for trouble on gas prices specifically. He had that make Saudi Arabia a pariah initiative he was giving speeches on when he first got elected, it was going OK while the US held the cards… but after the Ukraine war started and the supply was reduced, gas prices became a giant glowing weak spot that the Saudis could vengefully mash just in time for mid-terms. Biden recognized the danger then and visited hat in hand to ask for forgiveness and more production, but it was too late after making very public positions and statements that the Saudis REALLY didn’t like at all so the trip didn’t amount to much other than embarassing news articles about him crawling back to the guy he had been calling a murderer.
Tbh Biden did set himself up for trouble on gas prices specifically. He had that make Saudi Arabia a pariah initiative he was giving speeches on when he first got elected, it was going OK while the US held the cards… but after the Ukraine war started and the supply was reduced, gas prices became a giant glowing weak spot that the Saudis could vengefully mash just in time for mid-terms. Biden recognized the danger then and visited hat in hand to ask for forgiveness and more production, but it was too late after making very public positions and statements that the Saudis REALLY didn’t like at all so the trip didn’t amount to much other than embarassing news articles about him crawling back to the guy he had been calling a murderer.