On Thursday, Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich became another recipient of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s educational press briefings.
During questioning, Heinrich tried to push the right-wing cable channel’s pro-oil and gas messaging, promoting the false narrative that Biden controls the price of gas at the pump and tossing up irrational schemes she believes the U.S. government should use to lower gas prices amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Despite Fox News being a promoter of American capitalism to the exclusion of social policies the conservative cable entertainment channel also has a habit of creating the false narrative that Democratic presidents control the price of gas at the pump.
Heinrich asked Psaki why the Biden administration isn’t increasing domestic energy production – something it does not control.
As expected, Psaki wasted no time setting the record straight.
“Well, there are 9000 approved oil leases that the oil companies are not tapping into currently. So I would ask them that question,” Psaki replied.
“Is there nothing that the administration can do to get those providers back to pre-pandemic levels?” Heinrich asked.
“Do you think the oil companies don’t have enough money to drill on the places that have been pre-approved?” Psaki responded. “I would point that question to them and we can talk about it more tomorrow when you learn more.”
But Heinrich continued trying to score a political point and asked: “Do you think that opening the Keystone pipeline and having more energy-friendly policies might do that?”
“The Keystone pipeline has never been operational,” Psaki told Heinrich. “It would take years for that to have any impact. I know a number of members of Congress have suggested that but that is a proposed solution that has no relationship or would have no impact on what the problem is.”
Heinrich then tried to suggest that the U.S. is financing Putin’s war on Ukraine by buying Russian oil, only to be schooled again by Jen Psaki.
Watch the exchange below.
Asked if steps were being considered to boost US oil production, Psaki says, "You think the oil companies don't have enough money to drill on the places that have been pre-approved?…I would point that question to them and we can talk about it more tomorrow when you learn more." pic.twitter.com/0LtadaIuhQ
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 3, 2022
