Vice President JD Vance blamed high gas prices on “tin-pot dictators” during an energy speech Monday, giving online critics an opening to turn the description on President Donald Trump.

At the midterms rally in Belgrade, Montana, Vance acknowledged voters’ concerns about rising fuel costs and gave examples of previous price hikes.

“Now you will hear — and I want to speak a little bit to the undecided voters out there — you will hear many say that gas prices are too high, that there’s still so much work to do on correcting the terrible Biden inflation, the highest inflation that we saw in 50 years in our country, and I understand that. I agree with it,” Vance told the crowd.

He argued that historical price spikes were driven by international conflicts, pointing to global crises over past decades to illustrate his point.

“Remember in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine, and gas prices skyrocketed — they skyrocketed, by the way, far higher than they are today,” Vance said. “They skyrocketed in 1979, they skyrocketed in 2001, they skyrocketed in 2007. They skyrocket every time some tin-pot dictator decides to throw a tantrum. And we’ve got to remember that.”

But the vice president’s remark appeared to backfire, and critics were quick to point out that Vance’s timeline conveniently left out foreign conflicts under Trump.

“Is he really talking about his boss that way?” wrote one user under an X post featuring Vance’s speech, setting off a wave of similar reactions.

Another person posted, “calling your own boss a tinpot dictator is a pretty aggressive opening move for a presidential campaign that’s still two years away.”

Others referenced Vance’s past political pivots regarding the president.

“That’s the most truthful thing he’s said since he compared Trump to Hitler,” someone commented, referencing Vance’s past criticisms prior to joining the administration.

Other commenters pointed out the potential political fallout for Vance.

“Careful, JD,” someone else wrote. “That tinpot signs your checks.”

Another user questioned the strategy.

”Seems kind of dangerous for JD Vance to be throwing Trump under the bus right before midterms,” the user posted.

Still, Vance insisted during the speech that boosting domestic energy production remains the best way to shield American families from Middle East conflicts.