Ducey condemns Biden fist-bumping ‘murderers and despots’

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Sunday condemned President Biden’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia, saying he should instead focus on increasing domestic energy supply to stem high gas prices.

“President Biden is flying to the Middle East and fist-bumping with murderers and despots asking for more supply,” Ducey told CNN “State of the Union” co-anchor Dana Bash.

“What he could do is open up the Keystone pipeline. What he could do is work with America’s energy leaders and provide more supply of fossil fuels, of clean energy and solve this crisis,” he said.

Biden has received criticism for fist-bumping and meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence concluded ordered the killing of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. 

The Biden administration portrayed the trip to Saudi Arabia as primarily a visit to a Gulf Cooperation Council summit, but the meeting with the crown prince was largely seen as an appeal for Saudi Arabia to increase oil production.

The White House for weeks downplayed Biden meeting Salman face to face, portraying it as the two men merely being in the same room as part of a larger meeting with Saudi leaders.

Biden has declared fighting inflation and high gas prices as his top economic priority, but Ducey and others argue the president should center his efforts on increasing domestic supply to solve the problem.

U.S. field production of crude oil has increased by 9 percent since Biden took office but remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Biden has put forth other proposals for stemming the high gas prices, including a federal gas tax holiday and calling on governors to do the same at the state level.

Some states, including Georgia, have moved to suspend their gas taxes, but a federal suspension appears to have stalled without sufficient congressional support.

“We’re not going to do anything in Arizona that’s temporary or a gimmick or puts my successor in a terrible spot with the voters,” Ducey said on Sunday when asked if he would back a state gas tax suspension. 

“We’re going to have good policy here, and Joe Biden could lead from the White House as well,” Ducey said.

U.S. gas prices had peaked at just more than $5 a gallon before falling in recent weeks to a national average of $4.53, according to AAA.