Briefing Room Cracks Up As Reporter After Reporter Asks About Biden’s Dog — And If He’ll Get Locked Up

Hilarity ensued when reporter after reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Secret Service personnel who were bitten by First Dog Commander Biden.

At Tuesday’s edition of the White House briefing, reporters laughed it up as they couldn’t get enough information about the recent reports of new biting incidents.

First up was Mary Bruce of ABC News:

Q On a very different topic: the dog. (Laughter.) It seems that Commander Biden has a bit of a biting problem. Can you give us the latest? And also, any plans for him to, perhaps, make a move, go stay with some family friends, as — as Major Biden, the previous dog, did?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, as — (laughter) — as you all know, the White House complex can be unique and very stressful. And that is something I’m sure — (laughter) — you all can understand. And — and it is — as I just said, is — it is unique and it is stressful for all of us, so you can imagine what it’s like for a family pet and family pets, more — more broadly.

And so, look, the First Family is working through ways to make this situation better for everyone. I think there was a statement that came out of the First Lady’s Office from my colleague over there, Elizabeth Alexander, so I’ll just kind of lay out a little bit of what she put out in her statement.

So, they have been partnering with the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff on additional leashing protocols and training, as well as establishing designated areas for Commander to run and exercise.

According to the Secret Service, each incident referenced was treated similarly to comparable — comparable, pardon me, workplace injuries with relevant notifications of reporting procedures followed.

And so, the President and the First Lady are obviously — and continue to be incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and the Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them and their family and the country safe.

I don’t have anything — specifics on any changes to — to Commander’s whereabouts. So I’ll just leave it there.

There were many others, but the hilarity peaked when Jon Decker asked if Commander will be locked up for a mandatory 10-day quarantine, and Jean-Pierre revealed she’d made an over-under bet about how many dog questions she’d get:

Q Thanks a lot. I want to follow up on Commander. I actually had some experience with presidential dogs —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh —

Q — biting me. So I thought that I’d ask this question.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I wonder why.

Q Yeah. (Laughter.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Sorry, that was too easy.

Q No, I’ll tell you. You know, it was — it was George W. Bush’s dog.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh?

Q And George W. Bush’s election — I’m sorry, Barack Obama’s election had just occurred. So I think Barney was getting used to the idea of leaving the White House and just was disappointed that he’d be leaving. So, I mean — anyway, I wanted to ask you about —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: That’s a real psychological —

Q I’ve thought about it. (Laughs.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — understanding of a dog there, my friend. (Laughter.)

Q So, under D.C. municipal rules, after a dog bites an individual, the dog must be quarantined for 10 days. Do you know if Commander was quarantined for —

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I —

Q — a period of time?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I would have to refer you to USSS.

Q Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I have to refer you to the Secret Service.

You know, my team and I kind of did a bet to see how many times I would get questions on Commander. (Laughter.)

Q Who’s winning?

Q Who wins?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I don’t know. I got to — when — after this, I’ll let you know who’s winning.

But the prize probably goes to Associated Press White House correspondent Darlene Superville, who offered President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden the opportunity to offer a “statement of contrition or an apology”:

Watch above via The White House.

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