(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted a new political advertisement video on social media Wednesday, promoting his agenda to lower gas prices back down to $2 per gallon.
The ad attacks President Joe Biden, going after the inflation rates during his administration and Biden’s climate and energy agendas.
“Biden frowns on producing our own oil and gas here but will go to Saudi Arabia and fist bump to get it from them? This stops when I’m president,” DeSantis wrote in the post.
Gas prices reached a record-high national average in June 2022 when a gallon of regular gas hit $5.01.
The milestone came after months of gas price increases across the country, accelerated by the rise in seasonal demand amid supply constraints, according to GasBuddy.
Since then, gas prices have lowered but have remained costly for Americans struggling with inflation.
In the ad, DeSantis promises that if he is elected president, he will open up all energy production in the U.S., promising to be an energy-dominant country again.
“We need to lower gas prices and reduce inflation for the American people — and we have the resources at our disposal to do it,” DeSantis said.
But while DeSantis’ promise to lower gas prices to $2 per gallon might be persuasive, experts say that even as president, the Florida governor would not have much control over the price of oil.
“DeSantis pulling a Gingrich … promising to get gas prices down to $2/gal. There’s simply no way to insulate the United States from the global issues impacting the price of oil. There’s no way to offset the impact from OPEC, no way to build refineries overnight, etc.,” Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said.
De Haan explained that DeSantis would need to push states to lower gas taxes permanently, shift to dirtier gasoline and ease EPA requirements just to make a dent in gas prices.
“Every small string a president has could not overpower global requirements,” De Haan said.