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Fact Check: JD Vance Falsely Blames Biden Policy for High Gas Prices
Experts said global refinery losses, pandemic disruptions and the Iran war drove prices more than Biden policy.
- PolitiFact reviewed Vice President Vance's claim that "about 20% of American refining capacity" went offline during Joe Biden's presidency, finding the statistic inaccurate. Only California lost that much capacity; national refining levels remained largely stable.
- Refining closures occurred during Trump's second term as well, including a Phillips 66 facility in Los Angeles announced two weeks before his 2024 reelection and a Valero refinery in Benicia, California, closed in April 2025. Market forces drive production more than presidential policy.
- Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, stated that Twenty percent is "not a correct statistic in terms of national refinery capacity." Skip York of Rice University's Center for Energy Studies added that global refining capacity has shrunk by about 1 million barrels a day since 2019.
- The Iran War is the primary driver of current high gasoline prices, experts say. Professor Hugh Daigle of the University of Texas at Austin cited reduced ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and damage to Saudi Arabian export facilities as major factors.
- Yale University economist Kenneth Gillingham reported that market forces and global realities influence refinery production far more than presidential policy. Reduced refining capacity contributes somewhat to higher prices, but geopolitical instability in the Middle East remains the most significant factor.
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The vice president of the United States admits that fuels are too expensive and warns that recovering pre-war prices with Iran will take time, despite Trump-driven measures.
Vance is pressed on gas prices, recognizes they’re “too high”
Vance is pressed on gas prices, recognizes they're "too high" Vice President JD Vance was confronted by a voter concerned with high gas prices during a CBS town hall that aired Saturday on CBS. "Things That Matter" is a series of town halls and debates featuring the people in politics and culture who are shaping American life.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources29
Leaning Left0Leaning Right0Center26Last UpdatedBias Distribution100% Center
Bias Distribution
- 100% of the sources are Center
100% Center
C 100%
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