The Washington media sure seems to be getting a kick out of former House Speaker John Boehner‘s “Lucifer in the flesh” slam on Ted Cruz, if Thursday’s White House daily briefing is any indication. To assorted chuckles and titters from the assembled press corps, CNN’s Michelle Kosinski asked Press Secretary Josh Earnest if he thought the President agreed with the remark, and whether or not such a remark is helpful or unhelpful.

Earnest didn’t weigh in on the President’s reaction, but told Kosinski that “Obviously, Speaker Boehner was speaking based on his own experience,” and added that “I don’t know that he was looking to be helpful or harmful, I think he was just looking to be honest about his own view.”

Pressed on whether Boehner’s comments were “crossing a line,” Earnest told Kosinski that if she was “looking for somebody to come to the defense of one Republican who’s being attacked by another, you should probably ask somebody else.”

Watch the clip above, via The White House.