CNN Reporter on Nov. 9: Biden ‘Can’t Do Much’ About Rising Gas Prices, Same CNN Reporter on Nov. 19: ‘Thank’ Biden for Falling Oil Prices

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Don’t blame President Joe Biden for rising gas prices — just give him the credit if they go down.

That’s the message from CNN’s Julia Horowitz, who advised readers in a Nov. 9 column, “Joe Biden can’t do much to ease gas prices.”

Horowitz noted that Senate Democrats had called on Biden to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), but quoted an analyst who called it “the wrong tool to address the current elevated prices” and added, “It’s probably the new normal that prices will stay higher.”

Horowitz sent a different message in a Nov. 19 column, headlined, “Oil prices are finally falling. Thank China and Joe Biden.” Noting that Biden had spoken with Chinese leader Xi Jinping about tapping reserves, CNN said a different consultant had advised “the biggest factor driving prices right now is the expected release of strategic reserves from the United States and China.”

An estimated 20 to 30 million barrels are expected next month through utilization of the reserves. Gas prices have risen in the United States this year as inflation has skyrocketed, standing as of Monday in a range between $3.50 and $5, depending on the state. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meanwhile, has rejected Biden’s call for increased oil production.

In a statement, the American Petroleum Institute condemned using the reserves and called on the feds to reduce regulations that restrict domestic energy production, saying, “This is a distraction from the fundamental shift that is taking place and the ill-advised government decisions that are exacerbating this challenging situation.”