Tipsheet

Of Course KJP Would Have a Non-Answer About Jamaal Bowman Pulling the Fire Alarm

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 02, 2023 8:30 PM

On Saturday, as Sarah covered, footage was released of what appears to be Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) pulling the fire alarm to exit a door of the Cannon House Building, where signs there clearly indicated it is an emergency exit. This took place right before the House voted to avert a government shutdown, with Democrats looking for more time before voting. Bowman's office has since released multiple statements, including one that claimed in part that "Congressman Bowman did not realize he would trigger a building alarm as he was rushing to make an urgent vote." This is a big deal. The Capitol Police had to investigate. It's also a crime according to the code of the District of Columbia, and could get you into trouble at the school where Bowman was a principal. There's an effort from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) to censure and expel him, as Matt covered, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wants an ethics investigation. It's thus not shocking that it would come up during Monday's White House press briefing.

Although he did not mention Bowman by name, Fox News' Peter Doocy did ask Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about if President Joe Biden would "ever try to get out of a meeting by pulling a fire alarm?" As other members of the press could be heard laughing, Jean-Pierre had a visible smirk on her face as she asked "are you talking about something specifically?"

"A Democratic member of Congress pulled a fire alarm around a series of votes. No fire. Is that appropriate," Doocy asked as he pointed details of the situation that occurred on Saturday.

"What I can tell you is I have not talked--spoken to the president about this. And so, just not going--just not going to comment. I will leave it up to--I know there’s a House process moving forward right now. I’ll leave it to the House."

If she didn't actually speak to the president about the matter, then what else is Jean-Pierre supposed to say but admit that? This has been a habit, though, of the White House press secretary--who is supposedly so fawned over by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden--to not discuss important topics with the president.

Further, Jean-Pierre and others in the Biden administration, including Biden himself, have had no problem smearing Republicans on spending, even after the government shutdown was averted.

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Jean-Pierre took part in such smearing earlier in the press briefing as well, when another reporter was referring to remarks that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made on CBS News' "Face the Nation." 

"Look, the priority for me is America and our borders. Now, I support being able to make sure Ukraine has the weapons that they need. But I firmly support the border first. So we've got to find a way that we can do this together," McCarthy told host Margaret Brennan when being asked about funding for Ukraine. 

During the back-and-forth with Brennan, as she kept trying to cut in, McCarthy reminded her that "more Americans are dying on our border than Americans are dying in Ukraine," hence why it's such a priority. 

"I'm going to make sure that the weapons are provided for Ukraine, but they're not going to get some big package if the border is not secure," he shared, also making clear "the one thing the White House has to understand, they better be prepared to secure American border," and that "I'm going to make sure that the weapons are provided for Ukraine, but they're not going to get some big package if the border is not secure."

Not only did Jean-Pierre engage in providing non-answers and smearing Republicans, but she turned to another frequent habit of gaslighting about the crisis at the southern border.

"So, look, I think the American people are fed up. They’re fed up of the political games, the political stunts that House Republicans are doing on our national security and also our government," Jean-Pierre began by claiming, even going on to actually tout Biden's record on the border, as it pertains to funding for employees there. "This is something that he has done and has delivered on," Jean-Pierre insisted.

"Meanwhile, you know, we--we’re trying to do everything that we can to make sure that we deal with what’s going on at the border," Jean-Pierre went on to also say, a point few actually believe her on. As she touted thew "bipartisan support" for Ukraine funding that the administration "appreciate[s]," Jean-Pierre also offered "and so, look, this is about freedom and democracy against the--against Russia’s invasion, aggression against the Ukrainian people.  And this is also about--about protecting our national security as well," before moving on.

Record-high border encounters have taken place at the southern border during Biden's time in office. His failure to properly handle the crisis has been reflected not just in the polls--with RealClearPolitics showing he has just a 33.6 percent approval rating on immigration, while 62.8 percent disapprove.

Even fellow Democrats are calling the Biden administration out, as Guy highlighted about Gov. Kathy Hochul's (D-NY) appearance on "Face the Nation," which took place right after McCarthy's interview. "It is too open right now," she admitted about the border. The Democratic governor has been begging for help for months.

Just like the Biden administration has abandoned the border communities overwhelmingly burdened by the crisis of an open border, so too has it now abandoned fellow Democrats in New York.

Jean-Pierre's confusion caused by her lack of answers about a deal on funding support for Ukraine also had reporters in clear frustration throughout the press briefing as well.