That White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was unwilling to answer questions about concerns with President Joe Biden's health made Monday's briefing chaotic enough, as Katie covered earlier. The press also heard from White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby, though he wasn't exactly very reassuring either.
After he had spoken and taken questions for a bit, Kirby was asked by a reporter looking to clarify how he had said Biden was supposedly not represented by the debate stage, and was supposedly engaged during a meeting earlier on Monday.
"Are you saying you have never encountered a situation where you thought that [Biden] was displaying any of those symptoms or affectations or something that would give pause or are you just declining to answer," the reporter asked.
Gesturing, Kirby initially responded with a non-answer. "I'm a little uncomfortable answering these kinds of questions," he whined, "because as a spokesman, my job is to be an advisor and counselor and I don't think it's appropriate," he emphasized. He and the reporter got into it further, trying to discuss what is "appropriate," and why Kirby even shared anecdotes in the first place.
"I did [share those stories] because I wanted to make it clear," he snapped. So yes, I'm uncomfortable with these kinds of questions, but, to answer your specific question, in my experience, the last two and a half years, I have not seen any reason whatsoever, question or doubt his lucidity, his grasp of context, his probing nature, and the degree to which he is completely in charge of the facts and figures," he finally shared.
Kirby then seemed to try to downplay any concerns by speaking to how he's had to get answers for Biden before. "When [Biden] isn't, and when I can't be in command of those facts and figures, I-I-I have to fess up and go get the information that he's asking for and he asked me some questions this morning I didn't have the answers for."
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REPORTER: "Are you saying you have NEVER encountered a situation where you thought that [Biden] was displaying any of those symptoms or affectations or something that would give pause or are you just declining to answer?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 8, 2024
KIRBY: "I'm a little uncomfortable answering these kinds… pic.twitter.com/Lpzyk6R3gv
Why is Kirby even there at these briefings? There have been reports in recent months over whether Jean-Pierre or Kirby is really the key spokesperson for the White House. With an answer like the one he gave above, he's not serving a very useful purpose as a spokesperson. The press looks to have finally had enough and members are the media are thus asking such key questions.
Further, given all the concerns about Biden's health, Kirby's personal assessment doesn't exactly put the issue to rest.
Kirby also took other questions earlier in the briefing that weren't exactly comforting, including when it comes to a "plan to reassure American allies in NATO that [Biden's] still up for the job now after" what the reporter had acknowledged was "a disastrous debate performance."
As the reporter had also pointed out, this upcoming NATO summit will be the first since that debate performance on June 27.
As he offered, "I think your question presupposes the notion that they need to be reassured of American leadership and President Biden's commitment and I don't believe that's the case."
"We're not picking up any signs of that from our allies at all; quite the contrary," Kirby continued, as he claimed allies "are excited."
The reporter confronted Kirby about reports about questions from allies about Biden's capacity to lead, but Kirby denied being aware of any such conversations, and said they were not taking place, emphasizing "certainly not with us."
Kirby even tried to tout Biden's "leadership" and how his "record speaks for itself."
Reporter: How does Biden plan to reassure our NATO allies that he's still up for the job after his disastrous debate performance?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 8, 2024
WH National Security Spox John Kirby: Why do they need to be reassured? pic.twitter.com/ypfDsl61pZ
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