Tipsheet

Karine Jean-Pierre Defends Biden’s Vacations Amid Record Inflation

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  September 08, 2022 2:30 PM

Speaking to reporters from the White House on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bragged that the Biden administration is going to “make sure we keep costs down for the American people” amid record-high inflation and that they will soon unveil a “new” COVID-19 vaccine.

Jean-Pierre began the briefing by boasting about how gas prices are an average of $3.75 per gallon and that prices have been declining for over 80 days. 

However, a reporter pointed out to Jean-Pierre that a new Gallup poll shows that 24 percent of Americans have been spending less, and 17 percent are driving less or canceled vacations due to inflation and gas prices. Despite this, the president continues to go on vacation to Delaware and South Carolina.

“The president has been to his beach house six times this year,” the reporter said. “Has the president himself considered personally reducing his spending because of inflation, or has the administration reduced spending because of inflation?”

“I’ll say this – the times that the president has gone to Delaware…as it relates to trips that he’s made to Delaware, look, the way we see that is the president could be president anywhere. He can work from the residence, he can work from the Oval Office, he can work from Delaware, and that is the work. That is what he’s able to do as the president of the United States.”

Jean-Pierre reiterated several times that he has the ability to “work from anywhere” and said it’s “not unusual” for presidents to go on vacation to spend time with their families. She claimed that Biden “gets” the sacrifices American families have made because of inflation. 

“Look, when it comes to inflation, the president has been very clear on this. When it comes to his economic plan and dealing with inflation, he’s doing everything that he can to make sure that we lower costs. That’s the gas prices going down the last 86 days is a step forward, bringing it down under $4 average of $3.75 is a step forward,” she said, calling the decline “historic” before pushing the Inflation Reduction Act, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) even said won’t help with inflation.

During the press briefing, Jean-Pierre boasted that the Biden administration unveiled a “new” COVID-19 vaccine. In the press briefing, Jean-Pierre refused to call the “new vaccine” a booster, though a reporter pointed out that those who receive it will need to have gotten the initial COVID-19 vaccine.

“You still need to get the first original dose before you can get this shot. The FDA, the CDC, they’re still referring to this as a booster. So, why the discrepancy?” a reporter asked. 

“I’m not going to get into like, regulatory language on what to call this,” Jean-Pierre interjected. 

“We haven’t seen a new vaccine since December 2020. What this vaccine does, it targets the Omicron variant which is the dominant variant, not just here, but globally. This is good news. This is a step forward,” she claimed.

Another reporter inquired about the Biden administration running out of COVID-19 tests. Jean Pierre said “we have enough [tests] for the fall but not for the winter.” She said that Congress needs to move forward with “covid response funds” to get more tests.

Jean-Pierre added during the briefing that President Biden had been briefed on the news that Queen Elizabeth II was under medical supervision. Jean-Pierre refused to answer if Biden would be given a “heads up” if the Queen were to pass away and if he would travel to the UK for her funeral. The Queen was 96 years old.

“They [the Royal Family] are in our hearts, are in our thoughts, and that’s where we are today with this,” she said. 

Shortly after, the news broke during the briefing that Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had passed away.

“I don’t want to get ahead of what the president is going to say. I want you all to hear from him first, and so I don’t want to get ahead of that,” Jean-Pierre said in response to the breaking news. 

“Our relationship with the people of the United Kingdom, and this is something that the president has said himself, has grown stronger and stronger. The United Kingdom is one of our closest allies. Our hearts go out to the people of the United Kingdom, to the Queen, and to her family. I’m just not going to get ahead of the president,” Jean-Pierre said before leaving the podium.