‘Whoa, Whoa, Wait – Hold On’: Jean-Pierre Slows Reporter’s Roll Amid Barrage on Biden’s Florida Visit, DeSantis, Reelection
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre cautioned a reporter who launched a barrage of political questions — about President Joe Biden‘s visit to Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis, and Biden’s reelection — that she’s got to avoid violating the Hatch Act from the podium.
At Friday’s press briefing, AFP White House correspondent Sebastian Smith hit Jean-Pierre with kind of a lot — asking about Biden’s upcoming visit to Florida, his verbal bombardment of “MAGA Republicans,” DeSantis’ Martha’s Vineyard stunt, and Biden’s comments about reelection during a 60 Minutes interview.
Jean-Pierre laughed and tried to slow Smith down, and reminded him she needs to avoid violating the Hatch Act — unlike her predecessor Jen Psaki — before taking a crack t answering Smith:
MR. SMITH: Thank you, Karine. Can you tell us a little bit about Tuesday’s trip to Florida? Is the President going to be going after DeSantis a bit? Is he one of the MAGA — or not really, in a way — but you see what I mean. Is he part of the MAGA or the alternative MAGA scene that the President is going after?
And also, could you — could you just come back to the President’s reelection decision, because —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: You like asking me that question, Sebastian.
MR. SMITH: No, no — you were asked this like a few months ago because everyone was going crazy over, “Is he going to — is he going…” And you said, “Yes, he is.” And that was meant to stop the whole thing, but —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I said that — look, I’m — I’m —
MR. SMITH: Five days ago, he said it’s way too early. So which —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Whoa, whoa, wait. Hold on. I’m going to answer your question.
MR. SMITH: Okay.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m at the podium, right? There’s a Hatch Act. We have to — I have to be very mindful when talking about 2022 and even 2024, which is worlds away, as you all know. You cover this. This media cycle changes every second.
So, look, the President was clear even during that “60 Minutes” interview. And I have been clear. He has been clear multiple times that he intends to run. He said that. He said that in that same interview that he intends to run.
I have to be careful as I’m standing in front of you. I don’t want to get more into that.
But the President’s goal right now, as we look at today, as we look at the next coming days, is to make sure that we — that we continue to deliver for the American people. That is why we talk about the Inflation Reduction Act. That is why we talk about CHIPS Act. That is why we talk about Bipartisan Infrastructure legislation.
And not just him. You hear it from the Vice President. You hear it from his Cabinet Secretaries. It is so important to make sure that the American public understands what we have done here these past 19 months, and that’s going to be our focus.
As it relates to Florida and Governor DeSantis, look, I don’t have anything to preview at this time of what the trip will look like. We will share more as we get closer to the day.
Look, we have talked about this as well. You know, when it comes to extremism, when it comes to behaviors that is inhumane and cruel — that is what we’re seeing from Governor DeSantis. That is what we’re seeing in — specifically to how he is using people who are leaving communism, people who are freeing — trying to free, get away from political persecution — talking about Venezuela, Nicara- — Nicaragua, Cuba. They are fleeing those countries. And he is using families, children, and women as a political ploy, as a political stunt. We will continue to call that out.
But as far as what that day will look like, we’ll share more as we get closer.
Watch above via The White House.
