WATCH: White House Learns The Queen Is Dead In Real Time During Briefing – Smack In The Middle Of A Peter Doocy Question
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre learned of the death of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in real time — while answering a question from Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy.
At Thursday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre spent most of her time telling reporters it would not be “appropriate” to answer the blizzard of questions asking what President Joe Biden might do if or when the queen dies.
With just a few minutes remaining, Doocy began to question Jean-Pierre about the Inflation Reduction Act when the royal family announced, via Twitter, that “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”
As KJP began to answer his follow-up question, several reporters interrupted to deliver the news:
PETER DOOCY: A majority of Americans now say that price increases are causing them financial hardship. That is more than at the start of the year. So where’s the inflation reduction for everything else?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So here’s the thing. The Inflation Reduction Act will create a dime.
MULTIPLE REPORTERS: The Queen is dead.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. All right. Well. Okay. So that’s been confirmed?
REPORTERS: The royal family.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. The royal family. So as I said earlier, you know, our hearts and our thoughts go to the family members of the queen, goes to the people of the United Kingdom.
I don’t want to get ahead of what the president is going to say. I want him to, from you all, to hear from him first. And so I don’t want to get ahead of that.
But, and I said this earlier, our relationship with the people of the United Kingdom, and this is something that the president has said himself, has grown stronger and stronger. And it is one of our the United Kingdom is one of our closest allies.
And again, our hearts go to the people of the United Kingdom, to the queen, and to to her family. I’m just not going to get ahead of the president.
Watch above via C-SPAN.
