The Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy triggered ever-inept White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Tuesday for the basic crime of fact-checking her after she falsely claimed during Monday’s briefing that illegal immigration had plummeted 90 percent since Joe Biden became President. While other White House reporters chose to ask process questions about the banking system, the border, and the debt limit, Doocy came to correct the record on a bold-faced lie.
As he usually does, Doocy started with a short, simple question: “If the border is secure, as the administration has said, then why would we need to send 1,500 active-duty U.S. troops down there?”
Jean-Pierre mumbled her way through, stating in part:
Because we need more work. We need more — work needs to be done, Peter. We put forth a — a comprehensive immigration legislation and Congress — Republicans refused to act. And so, the President has used the tools that he has in front of him to — to prepare ahead of Title 42 lifting — as you know, that is happening in — in the next couple of days.
Doocy shifted to her comments from Monday: “You said yesterday that, when it comes to illegal migration, you've seen it come down by more than 90 percent. Where did that number come from?”
Doocy started to explain that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has told Fox the number for this fiscal year so far has been up 136,000 people, but Jean-Pierre tried to shout him down and keep the facts from coming to light by saying she would “answer” him.
Jean-Pierre came out of left field by trying to rattle Doocy’s cage by twice telling him to have “the dramatics...come down just a little bit.”
Doocy was incredulous and attempted to ask what was “dramatic about asking a question” (and seeing as how he wasn’t channeling Jim Acosta).
Jean-Pierre’s answer made little sense as she insisted she was referring “the parolee program” the Biden regime had “put in place...to deal with certain countries on — on ways that we can limit illegal migration” and “the data has shown us, that is gone down by more than 90 percent.”
Doocy clearly saw that as insufficient, so he kept pressing, but Jean-Pierre aggressively moved on (click “expand”):
DOOCY: And just to follow up —
JEAN-PIERRE: No, I'm —
DOOCY: — really quick —
JEAN-PIERRE: — we're — we're going to go —
DOOCY: — the President talks a lot about —
JEAN-PIERRE: — we're going to move — [TO ANOTHER REPORTER] go ahead, go ahead. Go ahead, go ahead.
DOOCY: — how much —
JEAN-PIERRE: We're moving, Peter. Let’s go.
After the exchange, Doocy’s indefatigable Bill Melugin had a further fact-check:
Colleague @pdoocy asks @PressSec about her false claim yesterday that illegal immigration is down 90%.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 2, 2023
KJP tells Peter he is being "dramatic", then goes on to say she was talking about the parole program for a handful of countries, but she *never* specified that yesterday. Her…
Earlier in the briefing, the Daily Mail’s Emily Goodin did what few outside of Doocy would ask about: Hunter Biden.
“I wanted to ask about the trial going on in Arkansas with Hunter Biden and the child support. Are the President and First Lady monitoring that and how come they haven’t acknowledged the seventh grandchild,” she wondered.
Not surprisingly, Jean-Pierre ducked: “I’m not gonna speak to that from here.”
With that, not a single follow-up was asked by the lemmings in the Briefing Room. Newsmax’s James Rosen blurted out, “why not,” but Jean-Pierre pretended she never heard that and kept calling on other reporters.
Also of note in the briefing, The Wall Street Journal’s Catherine Lucey sought White House reaction on the paper’s reporting of now-CIA Director Bill Burns handing out with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014 and the Washington Examiner’s Hasten Willis on whether employees victim to government vaccine mandates could have their jobs back or receive back pay.
On both counts, Jean-Pierre declined to comment.
To see the relevant transcript from the May 2 briefing, click “expand.”
White House press briefing [via ABC News Live]
May 2, 2023
1:42 p.m. EasternCATHERINE LUCEY: Does President Biden have any reaction to CIA Director William Burns meeting with Jeffrey Epstein in 2014? This was obviously after Epstein had served time for a sex crime and registered as a sex offender.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: I’m just not going to comment on that from here.
(....)
1:57 p.m. Eastern
EMILY GOODIN: I wanted to ask about the trial going on in Arkansas with Hunter Biden and the child support. Are the President and First Lady monitoring that and how come they haven’t acknowledged the seventh grandchild?
JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not gonna speak to that from here.
JAMES ROSEN: Why not?
(....)
1:58 p.m. Eastern
PETER DOOCY: If the border is secure, as the administration has said, then why would we need to send 1,500 active-duty U.S. troops down there?
JEAN-PIERRE: Because we need more work. We need more — work needs to be done, Peter. We put forth a — a comprehensive immigration legislation and Congress — Republicans refused to act. And so, the President has used the tools that he has in front of him to — to prepare ahead of Title 42 lifting — as you know, that is happening in — in the next couple of days. And so, we are putting DHS, Department of State is putting forth process — processes to deal — to deal with the changes that are going to be ahead of us. And so, that is what's important here. And that's what you've been seeing. For the past several seeing you've heard from DHS, you've heard from the state department on what we're putting in place to deal with — to deal with the border once Title 42 lifts.
DOOCY: You said yesterday that, when it comes to illegal migration, you've seen it come down by more than 90 percent. Where did that number come from? Because CBP —
JEAN-PIERRE: It was — I was speaking—
DOOCY: — is telling us the number is —
JEAN-PIERRE: — I hear you. I'm about to answer.
DOOCY: — 136,000 people more —
JEAN-PIERRE: I’m about —
DOOCY: — this fiscal year —
JEAN-PIERRE: — I’m about to answer you.
DOOCY: — so far.
JEAN-PIERRE: If you — if the dramatics could come down just a little bit.
DOOCY: I’m not [inaudible].
JEAN-PIERRE: If the dramatics could come down a little bit.
DOOCY: What’s dramatic about asking a question about —
JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. I’m — I'm going to answer. So, I was speaking to the parolee program. As you know, the president put in place a parolee program to deal with — to deal with certain countries on — on ways that we can limit illegal migration and we have seen — the data has shown us, that is gone down by more than 90 percent. That was what I was speaking to.
DOOCY: And just to follow up —
JEAN-PIERRE: No, I'm —
DOOCY: — really quick —
JEAN-PIERRE: — we're — we're going to go —
DOOCY: — the President talks a lot about —
JEAN-PIERRE: — we're going to move — [TO ANOTHER REPORTER] go ahead, go ahead. Go ahead, go ahead.
DOOCY: — how much —
JEAN-PIERRE: We're moving, Peter. Let’s go.
(....)
1:59 p.m. Eastern
HAISTEN WILLIS: One more on the vaccine mandate being lifted on May 11. Do you guys plan to rehire anyone who was fired or voluntarily resigned under that policy? Would they get any sort of compensation, back pay, anything like that?
JEAN-PIERRE: A — we’ll have more to share — more details to share in the upcoming days on — on requirements. Don’t have anything new to share on that at the time.
