White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre has never been good at this job, as even some frustrated journalists are starting to privately admit. Of course, the president's actions and words haven't made her life any easier. She's been especially ineffective in recent weeks, as the administration battles the burgeoning classified documents scandal, about which she is willing to say...virtually nothing at all. She has tried to make it seem as though the White House cannot comment on certain matters, due to the ongoing investigation (I'd note that President Biden had no compunction about biasing another investigation before it started, in service of a smear against US Border Patrol agents), but that excuse has been swatted down. Stuck with nothing to say, KJP has resorted to simply referring all questions to other people and other entities. It's cringe-inducing, but I think this might be the best she is capable of, and the strategy her superiors have chosen to adopt. Here's her deployment of the maneuver on a whole series of questions from Fox's Peter Doocy:
How many times does KJP dodge Peter Doocy’s questions in this clip? pic.twitter.com/yN64EkDR4I
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 24, 2023
She's been reciting this line a lot, in response to any and all questions about the documents mess. Here's another mini-montage, all from the same briefing. Just put this on repeat, day after day:
“I would refer you to…” ♾ pic.twitter.com/yE9h1NeJ2b
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) January 25, 2023
On Varney & Company, I suggested that at his point, everyone might just be better off if KJP were to march into the briefing room each day, hang an "I'll refer you elsewhere" sign on the podium, then trudge back to her office, close her door, and crack open an ice cold Coors Light. We'd all be exactly as enlightened:
NO GOOD ANSWERS: WH blasted for stonewalling press over Biden classified document scandal @guypbenson reacts on @Varneyco #FoxBusiness #Biden #ClassifiedDocuments #KJP pic.twitter.com/fwQLRWbvM7
— The Guy Benson Show (@GuyBensonShow) January 25, 2023
Special Report anchor Bret Baier has been, shall we say, deeply unimpressed with the White House's handling of all of this -- the "very seriously" gaslighting especially:
“It’s So, So, So Bad”: @BretBaier On The White House’s ‘Egregious’ Handling Of The Biden Document Scandal#FoxNews #WH #Biden #ClassifiedDocuments https://t.co/xXXOPuMUNa
— The Guy Benson Show (@GuyBensonShow) January 24, 2023
"...The president is this guy that values being transparent. So he says as he campaigned and as he became president and his straight talk and folks know I’m not joking. That’s it. Well, he should say, listen, here’s what happened. These documents, I don’t know how they got there. They were packed up or I was doing a book accidentally this stuff. Got it. He didn’t do any of that. What he said was, I have no regrets. and there’s 'no there, there.' And then the White House press secretary saying what she says again and again and again is almost a thumb in your face.”
Someone could ask KJP for her reaction to this assessment, but she'd probably refer the question to the White House counsel's office.
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