Home Depot Co-Founder Bernie Marcus says 40-year high levels of inflation would come down if the Biden administration makes it easier for oil companies to drill in the country.

"We have a president that just doesn't believe in that [oil drilling]," Marcus said on a new episode of Yahoo Finance Presents. "We are sitting on tons of oil and gas, and he doesn't allow us to drill. It's basically stupid. I can't come with another word. It's stupid. And we will continue to suffer this inflation. And our people will continue to struggle with high prices as long as he maintains this facade of climate control versus allowing us to do the things we should be doing,"

Marcus — a long-time Republican supporter — in many respects is toeing the popular party line on the president and oil drilling. Republicans in Congress consistently decry the Biden administration's efforts to curb new oil drilling in the U.S. and focus on growing the economy — such as building electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

Detractors of the Republican view note that big oil companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron remain focused on drilling from proven wells rather than searching for new deposits. This camp would also add that the ongoing supply chain effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and war between Russia and Ukraine are the primary drivers of elevated oil and natural gas prices.

In any case, consumers are in a precarious financial position when it comes to inflation.

Consumer price inflation is hovering around a 40-year high despite the Federal Reserve aggressively raising interest rates to cool the economy. And at $3.87 per gallon on average nationally, prices at the gas pump are more than 50 cents higher than a year ago.

Nearly half of U.S. households that use natural gas to heat their homes may see prices surge 28% year over year this winter, according to the U.S. Energy Inflation Administration in a recent report.