Tipsheet

New Press Secretary Offers Justification For Why Biden Didn't Visit Waukesha Victims

President Joe Biden will travel to Buffalo, New York on Tuesday to honor 10 victims who were murdered during a routine grocery store visit on Saturday. The perpetrator, who is a white teenager with previous encounters with police, specifically looked up a black neighborhood to target. He professed a number of bigoted and racist views in a manifesto posted online.  

"On Tuesday, May 17, the President and the First Lady will travel to Buffalo, New York to grieve with the community that lost ten lives in a senseless and horrific mass shooting. This trip will be pooled press," the White House released Monday. 

But when a black supremacist barreled through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin late last year, killing six and injuring more than 60 people, Biden failed to visit. In fact, he hardly commented on the horror. 

During Monday's daily briefing, newly minted White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about why President Biden didn't visit Waukesha. She deflected and claimed Biden has visited "many communities." 

At the time of the Waukesha massacre, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden wasn't visiting in order to protect local resources. 

"Any President going to visit a community requires a lot of assets, requires taking their resources, and it's not something that I have a trip previewed at this plan, point in time, but we remain in touch with local officials," Psaki said on November 29, 2021. "And certainly, our hearts are with the community as they've gone through such a difficult time."