President Joe Biden is taking fire on Twitter from Republicans and Democrats after he argued in a speech before Congress that the U.S. would need oil and gas for the next decade, at least.
"Let’s face reality. The climate crisis doesn’t care if you're in a red or blue state. It's an existential threat," Biden said during his Tuesday night State of the Union address.
"I’m proud of how America at last is stepping up to the challenge. We're still going to need oil and gas for a while," the president said to loud applause from the Republicans, and some "grumbling" and even "boos" from lawmakers, as CBS reporter Margaret Brennan pointed out.
"No, we do!" Biden exclaimed.
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"But there’s so much more to do."
The president’s comments on oil and gas production came after he explained that some oil executives were concerned about his hostile stance to energy production.
It was a problem that prompted Biden to admit that the U.S. will "need oil for at least another decade and beyond."
Members of the GOP burst into laughter at Biden's remark in the chamber, with conservatives also reacting to Biden's admission on Twitter.
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Former Texas State Sen. Don Huffines summed up Biden's views on American energy. "Joe Biden hates American oil and gas."
Rep. Stephanie Bice R-Okla., called Biden a liar. "Blatant lie, Biden is refusing to allow new federal drilling. In fact, he has waged an all-out assault on American oil and gas production. Produce American, buy American... not Venezuelan."
And Rep. Jeff Duncan R-S.C., argued that Biden was complaining about an energy crunch that he himself caused. "Joe Biden says ‘Made in America,’ but he has essentially shut down our oil and gas industry. It’s time to commit to "Made in America" and unleash domestic energy production."
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Some liberals expressed disgust with Biden's short term endorsement of oil and gas.
"Ugh. Biden goes off his prepared marks on climate change to say, 'We're still going to need oil and gas for a while,'" Dr. Lucky Tran, a scientist at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, wrote.
"Reminder: Capitalism caused the climate crisis," Tran added.
Another user agreed with Tran, writing that capitalism "also caused the failure to deal with covid."
Biden's comments on oil and gas were not included in the official copy of his speech shared by the White House.
Fox News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
