Biden Warns Gas Prices May Rise, Assails Meta Over Fact-Checking

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden sought to defend his economic legacy, justify the impact of new sanctions on Russia, and criticized social media companies peeling back fact-checking initiatives in a rare press conference Friday at the White House.

Biden’s exchange with reporters came ahead of the final full week of his term, where the president is set to deliver a prime time farewell speech on Wednesday from the White House and visit the State Department for an address on foreign policy on Monday at the State Department.

The president opened his remarks by championing new jobs numbers that showed the US had added 16.6 million people to the workforce during his administration — and warning that the nation was at a crossroads with President-elect Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House.

“The new playbook is working, but in 10 days, our administration will end, and the new administration will begin. We’re going to face another inflection point,” Biden said. “Do we continue to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, as we have the past four years? Or do we backslide to an economic theory that benefits those at the very top?”

As the president fielded inquires from reporters, questions about his legacy and successor loomed large. Here were five key takeaways from Biden’s press conference:

Pain at the Pump

Biden said new US sanctions on Russia’s oil industry would likely raise gas prices but defended the move as critical to hampering Vladimir Putin’s ability to conduct the war in Ukraine.

“It is probable gas prices could increase as much as three, four cents a gallon,” Biden said. But he added that the sanctions would have a “profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy, making it more difficult for Putin to conduct his wars.”

Friday’s sanctions, the most aggressive against the Russian oil sector yet, come ahead of Trump’s inauguration. The incoming president has said he wants to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine, raising concerns that he would seek an agreement that is favorable to Moscow.

The measures announced Friday targeted two firms that handle more than a quarter of Russia’s seaborne oil exports, as well as vital insurers and traders linked to hundreds of cargoes. The US also broadened sanctions on tankers that have already proved disruptive.

Biden denied that he had taken the actions because he wanted to bolster Ukraine before Trump took office, saying he had “decided to do everything I possibly could within my power and authority to give Ukraine every advantage it could have.” 

He added that he believed there would be an outcry from lawmakers if Trump decided to cut off military assistance to Kyiv.

Meta Decision ‘Shameful’

Biden assailed Meta Platforms Inc. over its move to end third-party fact checking on its social media platforms in the US.

The president expressed dismay at “the idea that a billionaire can buy something and say, by the way, from this point on, we’re not gonna fact-check anything” — in an apparent reference to the company’s chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg — “when you have millions of people reading.”

“I think it’s really shameful,” Biden added.

Meta, whose platforms include Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced the move earlier this week, saying it will instead let users comment on the accuracy of social-media posts with a community notes system. Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, said content moderation systems at the company had “gone too far” and were blocking free expression too often.

Trump hailed the move at a press conference on Tuesday, saying that Meta had “come a long way.” Trump and his allies have bristled at social media companies efforts to police online platforms, claiming that the tech giants censor conservative voices.

“It’s just completely contrary to everything America is about. We want to tell the truth. We haven’t always done it as a nation,” Biden said Friday.

‘Why Would I Pardon Myself’

One of the few remaining actions Biden can take in his waning days in office would be to exercise his pardon power, and in recent weeks he’s repeatedly hinted that he could look to offer preemptive reprieves to political figures who have earned Trump’s ire.

The president-elect has said he has the right to seek retribution against his political foes, in particular those involved in bringing criminal charges in cases involving a hush-money payment, his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, and his retention of classified documents after leaving office.

On Friday, Biden said his decision could ultimately hinge on what signals the incoming administration sends over the coming days. 

“It depends on some of the language and expectations that Trump broadcast in the last couple days here as to what he’s going to do,” Biden said. “The idea that he would punish people for not adhering to what he thinks should be policy as it is related to his wellbeing is outrageous, but there’s still consideration of some folks — but no decision.”

Biden seemed surprised by a question on whether he would consider preemptively pardoning himself.

“Why would I pardon myself?” Biden said. “I have no contemplation of pardoning myself. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Election Defense

Biden, 82, dismissed criticism that his choice to seek reelection despite his age ultimately doomed prospects for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election. Asked if his decision made it easier for Trump to win, Biden said he didn’t think so.

“I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump,” he said.

Biden also said he believed there were scenarios where Vice President Kamala Harris — who replaced him atop the Democratic ticket after a disastrous first debate against Trump — emerged victorious. But he stopped short of a full-throated endorsement for Harris to mount another presidential campaign, offering only that she was “competent to run again in four years” but that it was a decision for her to make.

The outgoing president said he dropped out of the race because members of his party were worried about whether he could win, and that he ultimately prioritized unity even though he was convinced he would prevail. 

“I didn’t want to be one who caused a party that wasn’t unified to lose an election, and that’s why I stepped aside,” Biden said.

Asked about his plans for his post-presidency, Biden said he was “not going to be out of sight or out of mind.”

Havana Syndrome

Even as the president defended his acuity, he stumbled when asked about a new conclusion by two US intelligence agencies that it was possible that some cases of so-called Havana Syndrome might have been caused by a novel foreign weapon.

Biden seemed to think the question was about whether two recent violent incidents — the New Year’s killing spree in New Orleans and the Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas — had been influenced by foreign actors.

The president said there was no evidence the suspects in either case — both of whom died in the attacks — had been “influenced by a specific individual,” noting there were indications that they “had their own problems.”

When the question was explained again, Biden declined to comment, saying he did not have information to share about the mysterious health incidents — including vertigo and headaches — that have affected US diplomats and spies.

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