US President Joe Biden has appealed to gasoline producers and suppliers to lower prices in the current environment, which he described as challenging. “I have a very simple message to fuel companies: these are extraordinary times, lower your prices, do it now, today. Your consumers, American citizens, should feel lighter,” he said.

Earlier, Biden demonstrated his tough-mindedness toward energy companies by getting into an absentee dispute with the chief executive of U.S. oil company Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX). Michael Wirth.

Wirth, who sent a letter to Biden, urged the president to stop criticizing the oil and gas industry and change his approach to energy policy in the United States.

Biden, responding to reporters’ questions about Wirth’s letter, which was released Tuesday, called the Chevron chief sensitive. “I didn’t realize it was so easy to hurt their feelings,” he said.

Wirth, along with the heads of several other U.S. oil companies, will attend a meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Thursday to discuss measures that could help lower the cost of gasoline in the country.

Gasoline prices in the U.S. have been hovering near record levels, keeping inflation high, and that has become a political issue for Biden, the Financial Times said. On Tuesday, gasoline at U.S. gas stations cost an average of $4.97 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Manufacturers Association.