Karine Jean-Pierre Answers Whether the White House Considers ‘Fox News a News Organization’

On Thursday’s Alex Wagner Tonight, the MSNBC host asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre whether the administration regards Fox News as an actual news organization.

Alex Wagner noted Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired Capitol riot footage to rewrite the history of the event to downplay the fact that a mob of Trump supporters violently attempted to overturn the 2020 election.

“The White House has been fairly outspoken about what’s happening in certain Republican circles – specifically, what’s going on over at Fox News, where Tucker Carlson is trying to whitewash the events of Jan. 6,” Wagner said.

The MSNBC host cited a tweet from President Joe Biden, noting that 140 police officers were injured during the riot.

“Does the White House consider Fox News a news organization?” she asked Jean-Pierre.

The press secretary alluded to a 2020 court ruling in which a judge – citing arguments made by attorneys for Fox News – said Carlson’s statements should not automatically be taken at face value.

“Fox persuasively argues, that given Mr. Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statement he makes,” the judge wrote while dismissing a defamation case against the network.

Jean-Pierre said even Fox News does “not see Tucker Carlson’s show as news or even truthful. That is coming from the Fox leadership, that’s not coming from me, that is coming from them.”

She accused Carlson of trying to whitewash Jan. 6.

“It was an attack on democracy,” she continued. “It was an attack on our Constitution and you cannot whitewash that. Tucker Carlson cannot whitewash that. Anyone who doesn’t see with their own eyes what occurred cannot whitewash that. And so, the president’s going to stand with the police officers, he’s going to stand for truth. And clearly, that is not what Tucker Carlson believes in.”

Wagner responded, “So, I’m gonna say that sort of sounds like the White House doesn’t think Fox is a news organization.”

Watch above via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!