Democrats have been handed one softball after another. They don’t know what to do when their feet are held to the fire.
And now Karine Jean-Pierre tucked tail and ran after being asked this one question.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stormed out of her Monday press briefing after a heated exchange with a reporter who dared to challenge the administration’s priorities in dealing with Hurricane Helene.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on why the Biden administration had a hefty $157 million on hand to assist Lebanon, yet was scrambling to beg Congress for more money for FEMA, which is currently facing a critical shortfall following the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.
“We’ve taken this very seriously,” Jean-Pierre insisted. “More than $200 million that we have provided to the impacted areas, but instead, people want to do disinformation, misinformation, which is dangerous.”
Doocy wasn’t buying the spin, pressing her on what message it sends about Biden’s “values” that there’s cash readily available for foreign aid, but not enough for FEMA. Jean-Pierre, sticking to her talking points, dismissed his question again as “misinformation.”
“Your whole premise of the question is misinformation, sir,” she said, hoping to shut down the line of questioning.
“Excuse me?” Doocy fired back.
“Yes, yes, it’s misinformation,” Jean-Pierre doubled — and then tripled — down. “I just mentioned to you that we provided more than $200 million to folks who are impacted in the area.”
President Biden, who recently sent a letter to Congress, had warned that without additional funds, FEMA would have to sacrifice long-term recovery efforts to handle the immediate aftermath of the devastation.
“The Congress should provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off,” Biden urged, adding that areas hit by Hurricane Helene and other parts of the country are in desperate need of disaster relief.
Doocy, undeterred, asked Jean-Pierre if she would at least agree that Biden’s letter wasn’t “misinformation.”
“No, the way you’re asking me the question is misinformation,” she shot back. “There is money that we are allocating to the impacted areas, and there’s money there to help people who truly need it.”
Doocy didn’t let up. “You can’t call a question that you don’t like ‘misinformation,’” he countered. “That’s very unfair.”
Jean-Pierre kept pushing the administration’s narrative, claiming there’s enough funding to help survivors of both Hurricane Helene and the upcoming Hurricane Milton. The problem, she argued, is that more money is needed because of the uncertainty surrounding how devastating Hurricane Milton — a Category 5 storm brewing in the Gulf — might be.
“That’s exactly what I just asked about, and you said it was misinformation,” Doocy pointed out, further highlighting the contradictions in her responses.
He pressed once more on what it says about Biden’s priorities that Lebanon gets aid while FEMA is strapped for cash.
“Congress needs to come back and do their job and provide extra assistance, extra funding to the Disaster Relief Fund,” Jean-Pierre deflected. “That’s what Congress needs to do, and we’re going to continue to urge that.”
“You may not want that, but that’s okay. That’s what this president wants, and that’s what the vice president wants,” she snapped, before slamming her notebook shut and making a hasty exit from the room.
Once again, the Biden administration shows just how willing it is to deflect and avoid hard questions when the facts don’t align with their agenda.
Watch the full exchange below:
WOW: Watch KJP storm out of the White House briefing room after Peter Doocy questions botched hurricane response
"The administration has money to send to Lebanon without Congress coming back, but Congress does have to come back to approve money to send to in North Carolina, is… pic.twitter.com/ukwvC9U6Ue
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 7, 2024
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