Thursday 30 June 2022 07:36 PM Jean-Pierre has made colleagues wince' and baffled reporters in choppy start as ... trends now
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made colleagues wince with her answers and baffled reporters in a choppy start to her tenure as White House press secretary, Politico's West Wing Playbook reported Wednesday night.
The newsletter anonymously quoted White House reporters, while White House officials defended her sometimes uneven performance, since she took over the podium from Jen Psaki in May.
Among the awkward exchanges highlighted was a back-and-forth with DailyMail.com over whether the president and first lady would be deemed close contacts to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland after she tested positive for COVID-19.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made colleagues wince with her answers and baffled reporters in a choppy start to her tenure as White House press secretary, Politico's West Wing Playbook reported Wednesday night
The newsletter anonymously quoted White House reporters, while White House officials defended press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's choppy start, since she took over the podium from Jen Psaki in May
'Well, I do not know when she last saw the President or the First Lady - Secretary Deb Haaland,' Jean-Pierre answered during a June 1 briefing, after it was already pointed out to her that they had been together on Memorial Day, two days before. 'Oh, were they? OK.'
When told that there were pictures of them at the same Memoridal Day event Jean-Pierre responded, 'OK, great. Well, thank you for that reminder.'
'I know that - and we've said this multiple times: The president has a regular weekly cadence on testing that —-that has been, you know, approved and talked with his doctor,' she then answered.
While news of Haaland's positive test broke during the briefing, Jean-Pierre didn't volunteer that she didn't know about it until asked.
'No. This is - I'm just learning about this now,' she said.
At least twice Jean-Pierre was unaware of remarks the president made.
She 'did not hear that part of the speech' when asked about claims the president made at the Naval Academy's commencement that he was 'appointed' to the Annapolis academy the same year he was already finishing college.
'I need to read it myself, and just go back and see what you're talking about exactly. I can't speak to it right now,' Jean-Pierre told CBS News' Ed O'Keefe during a May 31 briefing, as he had been asked whether Biden could be confused about the timeline.
During the June 1 briefing she admitted she hadn't listened to a question-and-answer session Biden had with reporters just minutes before.
'I was in my office. I did not actually hear what the president said. I do not like to speak on something without having a conversation with the president first,' Jean-Pierre said.
She was unable to answer why Biden didn't know about the brewing baby formula
