White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been scrambling overtime trying to deal with the disaster that blew up this past week with Biden’s terrible performance at the debate.
As my colleague Bob Hoge reported, she had to fend off questions about Alzheimer’s.
“But I think the American people need to get a yes or a no answer on this: Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s, or any form of dementia or degenerative illness that causes these sorts of lapses?” the reporter asked. “And it’s a yes or no question.”
“I have an answer for you, are you ready for it,” Jean-Pierre responded, looking visibly annoyed. “It’s a no. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same exact question.”
Her defense? Deflection to former President Donald Trump, who doesn’t have any of the signs of the illness.
Then, on Wednesday, she tried to explain the excuse he gave about almost falling asleep during the debate because of international travel — despite the fact that he’d been back from Italy for 12 days, so that didn’t make a lot of sense.
Cranky Karine Jean-Pierre Flat-Out Denies Biden Has Alzheimer’s
We Have an Update on That Joe Biden 10 am – 4 pm ‘Coherency Window,’ and It’s Not Good
She was also asked if he took naps during the day generally because of the report of the naps he was taking during the debate prep. Notice what she doesn’t do? She doesn’t answer that question.
Reporter Asks White House: Does President Biden Have An Afternoon Nap Every Day?https://t.co/pgHNZu53pz
“This is a president who wakes up every morning and puts the American people first… I’m not going to speak to unnamed sources out there.” pic.twitter.com/ozwe7wWjAx
— RCP Video (@rcpvideo) July 3, 2024
“This is a president who wakes up every morning and puts the American people first… I’m not going to speak to unnamed sources out there.”
She doesn’t need to speak to “unnamed sources.” She can just tell the truth. But she refused to do so.
That pretty much tells you the answer is yes. You could already tell from his schedule that he’s not even starting his official “work day” until 10 a.m. most days, at least on the schedule. Then, frequently, there’s nothing to the afternoon. So when does he actually work?
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After Directly Questioning Biden on Cognitive Concerns
The head of the White House Correspondents Association, Kelly O’Donnell, asked Jean-Pierre if they would have him come to the briefing to talk with them. KJP, of course, deflected. But Newsmax reporter James Rosen made perhaps the best point of the day when he added, “If he’s awake,” in response to O’Donnell’s invitation.
WHCA President Scolds Reporter During WH Briefing: “Inappropriate” To Ask If President Biden Is Awake Right Nowhttps://t.co/hiYvNlAC6e
“We would invite the President to tell us directly–“
“…If he’s awake”
“That’s inappropriate.” pic.twitter.com/FXLv9OU7mj
— RCP Video (@rcpvideo) July 3, 2024
That prompted O’Donnell to scold him, saying, “That’s inappropriate!”
Then Jean-Pierre thanked O’Donnell for defending Biden.
That said it all right there. You wonder why they haven’t properly reported on Biden’s issues?
Rosen is one of the few who will ask the difficult questions. But when he asked about Biden’s cognitive issues in the past, he was blackballed for months. That hasn’t stopped him from doing his job.
But then you have O’Donnell’s reaction to someone actually doing his job. Other reporters would rather defend Biden than do their jobs. Why is the question “inappropriate”? It’s very appropriate given not only the reports but KJP’s refusal to answer the question. We need to know if Biden is going to be available for the 3 a.m. call. But heck, we don’t even know if he’d be awake for a 5 p.m. call.
O’Donnell should have been defending Rosen rather than criticizing him and then pressing KJP even more. But it just shows you with great clarity the big problem we have here with the media.
