Bill Maher criticized President Joe Biden for attempting to force the nation off fossil fuels without having a suitable replacement. The liberal talk show host said because of the Biden administration’s mismanagement that now the president has to beg Saudi Arabia for oil as gas prices skyrocket.
Maher cited a recent Quinnipiac University poll that showed that President Biden’s approval rating of Americans ages 18-34 is a bleak 22%. Meanwhile, another usually strong Democratic voting base – Hispanics – is only at 24%. Maher suggested that the economy and gas prices have something to do with Biden’s abysmal approval rating.
On the latest episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the HBO host spoke to “Breaking Points” host Krystal Ball and columnist James Kirchick about the record-high gas prices that are walloping Americans’ wallets.
Kirchick said, “Gas prices, we can largely attribute to an administration that’s been waging war on the fossil fuel industry.”
Maher noted how Biden has vowed to eliminate fossil fuels.
In July 2019, Biden said, “We would work [fossil fuels] out. We would make sure it’s eliminated.”
In September 2019, Biden declared, “I guarantee you we’re going to end fossil fuel.”
In March 2020, Biden proclaimed, “Number one, no more subsidies for fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period, ends, number one.”
Kirchick chimed in that Biden killed the Keystone Pipeline and “antagonized Saudi Arabia with his with his Iran policy, and now he’s going back to them hat in hand to get them to increase their production.”
“Let’s just talk about why these things really happen,” Maher said. “Look, I wish we were all off fossil fuels forever.”
“But the truth is that when people get off fossil fuels before they have a replacement, they wind up going back to even worse fossil fuels,” Maher explained. “Germany said, ‘We don’t want nuclear power anymore,’ which is the cleanest, and what did they have to go back to? Coal.”
“And basically, the same thing happened here. We said, ‘Saudi Arabia, go f*** yourself, you killed a journalist,’ and now, Biden is going over there, hat in hand, begging them for oil. Because people want their gas.”
Ball added that it was “pathetic” that Biden must plead for oil from Saudi Arabia, but mostly blamed oil companies for high prices.