We’ve seen a handful of White House correspondents like Fox News’ Peter Doocy attempt to hold press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accountable, but such moments are becoming more common as Joe Biden continues to self-destruct.
During a White House press conference on Monday, even a CBS News reporter made it clear he’d had enough of Jean-Pierre’s incessant obfuscation.
As Fox News reported:
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had an explosive exchange with CBS reporter Ed O’Keefe as the Biden administration faces intense scrutiny over recent revelations of the repeated White House visits of a Parkinson’s disease expert, fueling more questions about President Biden’s mental health.
A series of reports, first reported by the New York Post, showed that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed Military Medical Center who specializes in Parkinson’s disease, met several times with Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, over the past year.
During Monday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre repeatedly would not confirm Cannard’s White House visits to reporters, citing security and privacy concerns despite the fact that Cannard’s name was listed in the public visitor logs.
After Jean-Pierre dodged questions from Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller about whether Cannard’s visits pertained to Biden’s health, saying, “I’m not going to share people’s [doctors’] names,” O’Keefe lost his patience.
“It’s a very basic, direct question,” O’Keefe shouted, grabbing her attention. “That’s what you should be able to answer by this point.”
ADVERTISEMENT“No, no, no, no, no,” Jean-Pierre immediately pushed back. “Ed, please. A little respect here. Please.”
“So every year around the president’s physical examination, he sees a neurologist. That’s three times, right? So I am telling you that he has seen a neurologist three times while he has been in this presidency. That’s what I’m saying,” Jean-Pierre continued. “I’m telling you that he has seen him three times. That is what I’m sharing with you, right? So every time he has a physical, he has had to see a neurologist. So that is answering that question.”
“No, it’s not,” O’Keefe doubled down. “Has Dr. Kevin Cannard come to the White House specifically about the president’s condition?”
The incident attracted significant attention among social media commentators:
🚨 #BREAKING: CHAOS has broken out at the White House Press Briefing as Karine Jean-Pierre REFUSES to say why a world-renowned Parkinson’s expert has REPEATEDLY visited the White House in recent months
KJP is a shameless LIAR pic.twitter.com/ubhreCcDn5
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 8, 2024
Karine Jean-Pierre is the worst White House Press Secretary in history.
The media is pressing her for the first time ever and it looks like she’s going to cry.
— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) July 8, 2024
WATCH: Karine Jean Pierre just had a total MELTDOWN after a White House reporter asked why a Parkinson's expert repeatedly met with President Biden's doctor pic.twitter.com/DZYpRBrXqD
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 8, 2024
The back and forth continued without Jean-Pierre ever acknowledging the doctor’s visit, ultimately insisting that she was offended O’Keefe even asked the question in the first place.
According to RealClearPolitics:
“You’ll allow this to fester longer unless the White House answers the question… We’re all a little miffed around here about how information has been shared with the press corps,” O’Keefe told Jean-Pierre. “You answer incorrectly and then you have to come back and clean it up.”
ADVERTISEMENT“I do take offense to what was just happening at the beginning of this briefing. It’s not OK,” Jean-Pierre said. “I try to respect you and I hope you try to respect me, and we literally do everything that we can. My team does everything that we can to make sure we get the answers to you.”
But this was hardly the only pathetic moment from the press conference:
JUST IN: Both Karine Jean-Pierre and John Kirby refer to President Biden’s upcoming press conference as a “Big Boy” press conference.
Remarkable.
KJP: “This week, President Biden will… hold a press conference, a Big Boy press conference.”
Kirby: “After that the president will… pic.twitter.com/gJf3k2cIgz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 8, 2024
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