Reporter at Briefing Asks Point-Blank If Hunter Biden and Valerie Biden Owens ‘Paid Their Share’ For Ireland Trip

MailOnline US Deputy Political Editor Geoff Earle asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if Hunter Biden and Valerie Owens Biden “paid their share” of travel expenses during last week’s Ireland trip.

President Joe Biden just completed a trip through the Emerald Isle that took him first to Belfast and all over the Republic of Ireland that included a deliriously-received speech at St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina, Republic of Ireland.

Accompanying him on the trip were the First Son and the First Sister, which drew criticism from the likes of former VP Mike Pence, who knocked the trip as a “family vacation.”

At Tuesday’s press briefing, Earle asked Jean-Pierre to “close the book” on questions about the cost of the trip, which KJP assured him were paid for appropriately:

GEOFF EARLE: Hello, Karine. How are you doing?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Hey! Long time — long time, no speak.

GEOFF EARLE: Long time, yeah.

Listen, just to close the book on Ireland, since we just got back. It was a highly personal trip. There were a lot of cousins there. Did Valerie and Hunter — (laughter) — and Hunter Biden — they flew on Air Force One. Did they contribute? Did they pay for airfare, accommodations, ground transportation? What — I think — did they?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, we took — we’ve — this is not the first time. Let’s be very, very clear. It is consistent with other presidents when they’ve had family travel with them abroad. This is nothing new. So I just want to make sure that we make that very clear to the American people.

GEOFF EARLE: Point taken.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: And, of course, we followed every protocol that any other president or every other president has taken when they — when their family has traveled. And so, yes.

All right. I’m going to go. I’m —

GEOFF EARLE: “Yes” what?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So we — we took every protocol that is necessary and needed when a family traveled. We did nothing different than past presidents. And so, yes, they paid — they paid for their way.

GEOFF EARLE: They paid for their share.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. Like every other — this is — this is not unusual. This is not the first time that families have traveled with presidents.

So, there’s — there’s — there’s nothing — there’s no “there there,” as they would say.

Watch above via The White House.