‘My Goodness, Jeremy!’ Kirby Mocks CNN Reporter’s Question About ‘Consequence’ Of Biden’s ‘Dictator’ Remark

NSC spokesman John Kirby mocked CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond’s question about a “consequence” of President Joe Biden calling China President Xi Jinping a “dictator.”

Biden said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Republic of India that he didn’t believe his remark about Xi was of any “consequence” to the US/China relationship:

I think we — I believe that — and I’ve said this for some time — that the hysteria about the relationship with China is collapsing and moving, et cetera, et cetera — we had an incident that caused some — some confusion, you might say. But President — but Secretary Blinken had a great trip to China. I expect to be meeting with President Xi sometime in the future, in the near term. And I don’t think it’s had any real consequence.

At Friday’s briefing, Kirby joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to answer national security-related questions, and Diamond suggested that a diplomatic démarche could be considered a consequence. Kirby mocked the suggestion:

JEREMY DIAMOND: Thanks. John, the President said in his comments yesterday that his — he doesn’t believe his China comments have had any consequence. Isn’t China issuing a demarche to the U.S. Ambassador in Beijing a consequence?

MR. KIRBY: If demarches issued by nations against other nations were some sort of bellwether for whether a relationship was collapsing or — or in any danger —

JEREMY DIAMOND: I didn’t say collapsing.

MR. KIRBY: — I mean, my goodness.

JEREMY DIAMOND: I said a “consequence.”

MR. KIRBY: I mean, my goodness, Jeremy.

JEREMY DIAMOND: I said a “consequence.”

MR. KIRBY: A demarche is a demarche. That happens all the time. I — I’m not going to get into the specifics.

JEREMY DIAMOND: It doesn’t happen every day.

MR. KIRBY: I’m not going to get into the specifics of this one.

The President is firm that this relationship matters; it’s important. We need to move it forward, and he’s absolutely confident that we’ll be able to.

JEREMY DIAMOND: Let me ask you this: Other than a demarche, have you seen any other consequences —

MR. KIRBY: No.

JEREMY DIAMOND: — in the relationship?

MR. KIRBY: No, nothing.

JEREMY DIAMOND: And then, secondly, the — the President, in his comments at that fundraiser, he also revealed a U.S. intelligence assessment that Xi was not aware of the spy balloon flying over the U.S. in February. What was the strategic value of disclosing that intelligence at a fundraiser?

MR. KIRBY: That wasn’t a disclosure. That’s been in the public domain.

JEREMY DIAMOND: Not — not on the record from any —

MR. KIRBY: Yeah, it has.

JEREMY DIAMOND: — U.S. official.

MR. KIRBY: Yeah, it was.

JEREMY DIAMOND: By who?

MR. KIRBY: It was. A senior defense official had talked about it before, on the record, that that was a possibility. Yeah.

Watch above via The White House.

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