Not only did President Joe Biden speak in North Carolina on Tuesday, but White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also called into WBT Charlotte's News Talk. Among the questions host Mark Garrison asked her included "Does the president have dementia?" and with gas prices and grocery bills high in North Carolina, "How does Mr. Biden win votes when people don't have as much disposable income?"
Upon being asked the dementia question, which Garrison said multiple people told him to ask her, Jean-Pierre flipped out. "Mark, I can't even believe you're asking me this question. That is an incredibly offensive question to ask," she claimed.
"But you know people ask it," Garrison pointed out in response. Indeed, multiple polls show concerns about Biden's mental capabilities and physical health.
"No, no, no, no, Mark, you're taking us down this rabbit hole," Jean-Pierre insisted in response, even though the American people have such concerns. As she claimed she was going to be "very clear about this," the press secretary then offered that "the president's physician has laid out in a comprehensive way the president's health," and "that he is a president who if you watch him every day, if you really pay attention to his record and what he has done, you will see exactly how focused he's been on the American people, how historic his actions have been."
It's worth reminding, though, that the most recent physical exam did not include a cognitive test, as the White House claimed he didn't need it.
When it comes to "watch[ing]" Biden, what we've seen is how he needs to use special shoes and take shorter stairs to board Air Force One. He also continues to appear confused and regularly mixes up foreign leaders, even and including dead ones.
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Particularly telling is how Jean-Pierre herself said she wasn't going to actually answer the question, despite how she had just said she was going to be "very clear." Rather, she added, "And so I'm not even going to truly, truly, really, you know, take the premise of your question. I think it is incredibly insulting, so we can, you know, move on to the next question."
Even with the other question addressing a different concern that voters have, Jean-Pierre still took issue with it. As she tried to offer that "the president understands" and "gets it," she did so with a tone in her voice. She also blamed former and potentially future President Donald Trump, and others.
"When the president walked into this administration, there were multiple problems happening. There was COVID, the economy was in a tailspin because of the last administration, because of what President Trump left us with, now you're asking about gas prices. The president took action on gas prices. Let's not forget, the Russian invasion of Ukraine skyrocketed prices of gas, and because the president took action we are in a different place than we were a year ago on gas prices," she said.
Blaming the Russian invasion of Ukraine for gas prices is a tactic this administration has gone with before, though gas prices had been increasing even before then, especially as the invasion didn't take place until over a year after Biden had been in office. Biden also canceled the Keystone XL pipeline and, when it comes to that "action" he and his administration have bragged about, it's involved tapping into the emergency supply, reducing it to critical levels.
"Eggs, milk, seafood products, all the important groceries--those prices have gone down because of what this president has been able to do," Jean-Pierre went on to offer, despite how prices have been up during the Biden administration.
Not only were gas prices much lower under Trump, but they were at record highs under Biden. Of all the presidents since Lyndon B. Johnson, Trump was in office during the second-lowest rate of inflation. Biden has so far seen the third-highest rate of inflation. And, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, inflation is up.
"And with that, thank you so much Mark, have an amazing day," Jean-Pierre said, hanging up to the host's shock.
LISTEN: KJP hangs up on a Charlotte, North Carolina radio host after being asked if Joe Biden has dementia and about high gas prices and high grocery prices. pic.twitter.com/eu69qAQhVH
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) March 26, 2024
As he highlighted more of the program, Nick Arama from our sister site of RedState highlighted how Garrison had actually planned more time, as he explained to Brett Winterble when he played the interview on his show. Winterble commented on how he couldn't believe how "fragile" Jean-Pierre was, and that to pretend his mental state wasn't an issue is "fundamentally dishonest."
Further, North Carolina is still something of a conservative state in a lot of ways. Trump won it in 2016 and 2020 and it's looking good for him to win the state again in 2024. The gubernatorial race is also a competitive one.
It's not just North Carolina where these questions are on people's minds, but around the country. Jean-Pierre did Biden no favors with this one. And to think that this is a press secretary who has touted how President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden picked her for the job because they considered her to be "beyond capable."
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