Another day, another sub-par performance from incompetent Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre (KJP) during Thursday's White House press briefing in which Jean-Pierre struggled through basic questions ranging from the recent IRS whistleblower in the Hunter Biden tax fraud investigation to the looming fight over the debt ceiling. Each time, KJP mumbled her way through the briefing. Even her frequent crutch, John Kirby couldn't save her.
After what WMAL radio host Vince Coglianese calls the "adult press briefing" conducted by Kirby concluded, it was KJP's turn to butcher the English language and stonewall reporters in the room. The first reporter to challenge her was the Associated Press's Chris Megerian who brought up the IRS whistleblower who alleged the Biden administration is protecting Hunter Biden from the consequences of his own actions.
Megerian wanted to know, "What is the White House’s message to employees who wonder if there should be political considerations when things affect the President’s family?" In response, KJP wanted us all to know she wants "to be very clear here" that Biden "respects the rule of law" and "the independence of the Department of Justice." Par for the course, she threw out that generic platitude and then concluded with her refusal to "go beyond that."
Next up to bat was ABC's Elizabeth Schulze who had a similar follow-up. Unsurprisingly, KJP had no satisfactory response:
SCHULZE: Thanks, Karine. I know you — just to follow up on that. I know you won’t comment on the investigation, but is the President confident that his Attorney General has upheld all the ethical obligations here when it comes to this investigation?
JEAN-PIERRE: Again, the President has always been clear — during the campaign, during his presidency — that the Department of Justice should have independence, they should not be politicized, and they should be able to do their job independently, essentially. And so I’ll leave it to them. I’ll leave it to Department of Justice to make their decision to do to — to move forward with this particular case. We’re just not going to comment from here. I — I know, actually, my colleagues from the White House Counsel’s Office actually put out a statement on this and addressed this more — more specifically. But again, I would refer you to the Department of Justice on anything else.
Probably realizing she wouldn't get any hard information out of her, Schulze turned to the debt ceiling fight to ask, "What will it take for the President to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with House Speaker McCarthy at this point to try to hash out some of this in person?"
In response, KJP demanded Republicans acquiesce to Biden's demands and raise the debt ceiling "without conditions." After completely botching it earlier in the week, she manages to somewhat coherently regurgitate Biden's phrase "Show me your budget, and I’ll show you what you value." According to KJP, the GOP budget "will harm American families."
By far the dumbest question of the entire briefing was when CBS's Nancy Cordes complained about people being mean to transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney after he appeared in that preposterous Bud Light ad campaign. To make matters worse, Cordes played into his delusions and referred to Mulvaney as "she."
"The transgender actor and influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been the target of a barrage of attacks from anti-trans individuals online after she did an ad with Bud Light a couple of weeks ago," Cordes whined before asking if "anyone here at the White House reached out to her since she became the target of these attacks?"
Jean-Pierre replied by lecturing that "When a transgender American posts a video about a brand of beer they enjoy and it leads to bomb threats, it’s clear that that level of violence and vitriol against transgender American has to stop."
Finally, Kristen Welker of NBC asked one of the better questions when she noted how Biden's refusal to negotiate with congressional Republicans could lead to the same economic consequences as the 2011 debt ceiling battle between then-President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner.
"Due in part to the gridlock over that issue, S&P downgraded the nation’s credit ratings, markets plummeted, interest rates increased, the country’s borrowing costs went up by more than a billion dollars. Is the President risking the same by — and Congress — by dragging out this process?" Welker asked.
The following back and forth between Welker & KJP was telling:
JEAN-PIERRE: It’s not the President that’s risking this. It is —
WELKER: Well, it’s everyone, right?
JEAN-PIERRE: No, it is Congress —
WELKER: I mean, everyone is responsible.
KJP doubled down and claimed: "We should not have to negotiate on this. We should not be doing this with conditions."
Welker interjected to ask: "Doesn’t everyone bear responsibility, including and especially the President?"
"The responsibility to make sure that we do not default, it sits in the hands of Congress," KJP shot back.
"I guess the question is: Isn’t the ball in the President’s court?" Welker asked.
"I already answered the question, Kristen, many, many times. This is a constitutional duty that Congress has. And Speaker McCarthy is playing games," KJP sneered in response.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
White House Press Conference
4/20/2023
2:01:25 p.m. EasternCHRIS MEGERIAN: And the last question is: An IRS special agent wants whistleblower protection to talk about the investigation on Hunter Biden’s taxes. What is the White House’s message to employees who wonder if there should be political considerations when things affect the President’s family?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I want to be very clear here. As you know, the President respects the rule of law and the dep- — the independence of the Department of Justice. He believes that’s what they should be. In this administration, we believe that it should be independent. So I’m not going to go beyond that. The Department of Justice will certainly deal with this issue. Again, he believes in the rule of law. He believes in the independence of the Justice Department. Go ahead.
ELIZABETH SCHULZE: Thanks, Karine. I know you — just to follow up on that. I know you won’t comment on the investigation, but is the President confident that his Attorney General has upheld all the ethical obligations here when it comes to this investigation?
JEAN-PIERRE: Again, the President has always been clear — during the campaign, during his presidency — that the Department of Justice should have independence, they should not be politicized, and they should be able to do their job independently, essentially. And so I’ll leave it to them. I’ll leave it to Department of Justice to make their decision to do to — to move forward with this particular case. We’re just not going to comment from here. I — I know, actually, my colleagues from the White House Counsel’s Office actually put out a statement on this and addressed this more — more specifically. But again, I would refer you to the Department of Justice on anything else.
SCHULZE: On the debt limit, what will it take for the President to sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with House Speaker McCarthy at this point to try to hash out some of this in person?
JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I’ve been very clear when it comes to the debt — the debt ceiling — sorry, there’s something flying around — that should be done without conditions. That should be done, just like Speaker McCarthy, himself, and other Republicans, when they got together with Democrats the last — three times in the last administration, they should deal with this. This is their constitutional duty to make that happen. As it relates — as it relates to the budget, we saw what Speaker McCarthy and MAGA wing of the Republican Party put forth, which was — we believe is cruel, we believe which will be — really harm American families who are struggling every day to make ends meet. That’s what — what they put forward — their plan, their blueprint — that’s what it tells us.
If you look at the 22 percent cuts in veterans — in veteran services, if you look at how they want to cut Meals on Wheels, they want to cut law enforcement funding, that’s what it shows. So we’re going to take a look at it. We’re going to look at the impacts of the plan, the blueprint that they put forth. And we appreciate that the Speaker put that — put that together. And, look, the President has been very clear: You know, show me your budget, and I’ll show you what you value. We have seen what the Republicans in Congress, in the House specifically — along with the Speaker, Speaker McCarthy — value. And this is what they put forward yesterday — something that we believe will harm American families.
[...]
NANCY CORDES: The transgender actor and influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been the target of a barrage of attacks from anti-trans individuals online after she did an ad with Bud Light a couple of weeks ago. She’s someone who has been here to the White House. She interviewed the President last year. He had a lot of warm words for her. Has anyone here at the White House reached out to her since she became the target of these attacks?
JEAN-PIERRE: So, don’t have any calls to review at this time. And I don’t have anything to say specifically about this report. But what I can say: When a transgender American posts a video about a brand of beer they enjoy and it leads to bomb threats, it’s clear that that level of violence and vitriol against transgender American has to stop. And the President has been very clear; I just laid this out: The administration has a — is going to do everything that they can to protect LGBTQI+ people who are under attack. And that’s what we’ve been seeing across the country, especially in statehouses.
And so we’re going to fight alongside them to protect their rights. They should be allowed to be who they are, who they want to be. And they should be able to speak out against — and we should be able to speak out, and others should be able to speak out against hate and discrimination. But, look, that type of dangerous rhetoric, that type of vitriolic language and violence, that needs to stop.
[...]
KRISTEN WELKER: Just on the debt limit — at the risk of dating myself, I was here back in 2011 during the debt ceiling fight then. And due in part to the gridlock over that issue, S&P downgraded the nation’s credit ratings, markets plummeted, interest rates increased, the country’s borrowing costs went up by more than a billion dollars. Is the President risking the same by — and Congress — by dragging out this process?
JEAN-PIERRE: It’s not the President that’s risking this. It is —
WELKER: Well, it’s everyone, right?
JEAN-PIERRE: No, it is Congress —
WELKER: I mean, everyone is responsible.
JEAN-PIERRE: — it is Congress that is risking this. These political stunts that you’re seeing from Speaker Mc- –McCarthy and the MAGA wing — this is dangerous. These are political stunts that will have long-lasting effects, as you just laid out. This is something that they can easily deal with immediately by putting a piece of legislation on the floor to deal with not defaulting. This is their constitutional duty. We should not have to negotiate on this. We should not be doing this with conditions. They were able to do this three times under the last administration — a Republican administration.
WELKER: But doesn’t everyone bear responsibility, including and especially the President?
JEAN-PIERRE: The responsibility to make sure that we do not default, it sits in the hands of Congress. And right now, it is Speaker McCarthy and the MEGA wing — the MAGA wing — pardon me — of — of the Republican conference. It is — it is up to them to get this done. They are wasting time. And we’ve — I’ve already laid out what they did propose, how much that’s going to hurt American families who are trying to make ends meet.
WELKER: But the President said, “Show me your budget.” He didn’t say, “Show me a budget that I agree with.” Speaker McCarthy has put forward a plan.
JEAN-PIERRE: Well, we — well, you have to finish —
WELKER: Why not pick up the phone —
JEAN-PIERRE: You have to finish the statement.
WELKER: But —
JEAN-PIERRE: He said — well, you have to finish what he said. The — the statement that he made — his quote is, “Show me your budget, and I’ll show you what you value.” That’s what the President said. And by looking at this blueprint, by looking at the plan, they are certainly showing us their value.
WELKER: I guess the question is: Isn’t the ball in the President’s court?
JEAN-PIERRE: I already answered the question, Kristen, many, many times. This is a constitutional duty that Congress has. And Speaker McCarthy is playing games. He’s — he is wasting the time of the American people. This is a political stunt. And he has to act. He has to act. And what he showed us yesterday — he aligned himself with the MAGA wing of the party.
[...]
