Briefing Room Cracks Up As Biden Spox Blows Off Newsmax Reporter — But With LOVE

Newsmax Chief White House Correspondent James Rosen got a laugh with a shocked reaction to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ignoring him in favor of another reporter — and Jean-Pierre’s response to it.

Rosen — not the most popular figure with the Biden White House — is a consistent and verbosely antagonistic presence in the briefing room.

At Thursday’s White House press briefing, Rosen tried to cajole Jean-Pierre into calling on him, to no avail. After Rosen exclaimed “Unbelievable!” Jean-Pierre blew him off in the kindest way possible — with a profession of “love”:

Q And what about Americans broadly now? There’s 31 states in the latest data that have high or very high levels of respiratory illness: RSV, flu, and COVID. What should Americans be doing? What’s the recommendation?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, it is up to each and — each and every American to make their decision on what they want to do.

We have a range of tools. Right? That is something that we’ve been able to do these last three years for people to feel — to protect themselves from the impact of COVID — whether it’s a vaccine, whether it’s at-home testing, whether it’s treat- — and treatments. Right? All of these things are incredibly important.

So, there are tools available for folks. And we’re going to certainly — certainly encourage Americans to — to take those steps.

We’re not going to — it is up to them. It is up to them, as it relates to masking, what individual Americans want to do. That is not something that we’re going to regulate.

JAMES ROSEN: All the way back here. What do you say, Karine?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) (Calls on another reporter) Go ahead. Go ahead.

JAMES ROSEN: Unbelievable!

Q On the —

JAMES ROSEN: Unbelievable!

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I love you so much, James!

Go ahead. Go ahead.

JAMES ROSEN: That’s on the record.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: (Laughs.) It is.

Q On gun control, you mentioned the 2022 bill the President signed.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.

Q Do you think that that bill is having an impact on the number of mass shootings that we’re seeing now?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, I think that piece of legislation certainly was important. It — it’s — it is taking steps for states, for example — and states to take actions to deal with gun violence in their communities.

But we need more. We’re always going to say we need more.

The President also took, as I mentioned earlier, two dozen — two dozen actions — right? — executive actions to deal with — to deal with gun violence, the epidemic that we’re seeing across the country.

But honestly, the way that we’re going to deal with this is to have legislation that deals with high-capacity magazines, assault weapons ban — that’s how we’re going to move forward — a national red flag ban. And that’s how we’re going to deal with this — this epidemic that we’re seeing across the country.

That’s why we keep saying enough is enough. Congress needs to act.

Yes, it was important that we took this step. Thirty years — it took thirty years to sign that bipartisan — not to sign but to get — to get that bipartisan legislation done, and the President obviously signed it.

But we need more. It is not enough. That’s what we believe. It’s just not enough.

All right, everybody. I’ll see some of you tomorrow. Thank you.

Watch above via The White House.