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Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy refused to allow White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to blame Republicans for massive spikes in violence and crime in cities that are dominated by Democratic politicians and district attorneys.
Doocy began by referencing the three armed assailants who allegedly carjacked Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C., earlier this month. Jean-Pierre responded by giving credit to President Joe Biden for signing legislation that provides more funding to add police officers while accusing Republicans of not helping in the effort by voting against the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, largely because of their price tags and the fact that they mostly contained left-wing Democrat priorities.
“Well, my first follow-up would be, how are you gonna blame Republicans for this? Isn’t D.C. run by a bunch of Democrats?” Doocy asked.
“I’m gonna speak to what the president has done,” Jean-Pierre replied. “The president has been very, very straightforward about what he has done to make sure communities are safe. The American Rescue Plan, not one Republican in Congress voted for it. Not one.
“There were billions of dollars in that plan, in that act, to make sure communities across the country got funding so they can indeed hire more police officers so that they can keep their communities safe. Republicans had nothing to do with that. They were not involved in that. They decided not to vote on the American Rescue Plan. That’s just a fact,” she added.
“So if President Biden’s policies are helping bring crime down, would he be comfortable with somebody borrowing his Corvette and parking it on the street overnight in Southeast D.C.?” Doocy asked.
“I’m not gonna get into hypotheticals. I’m just gonna get into the facts about what this president has done in this presidency,” KJP responded.
Doocy responded by asking if members of Congress aren’t even safe on D.C. streets, who is — to which she responded that the White House is “grateful” that Cuellar was not harmed.
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The Daily Caller added:
Three assailants allegedly carjacked Cuellar at gunpoint as he attempted to park his vehicle at his residence Monday night. Cuellar told reporters Tuesday he had to “keep calm” in the situation and allowed the armed perpetrators to take the car.
The Metropolitan Police Department and Capitol Police recovered the vehicle and all of his other belongings, including his phone and sushi, within about two hours, Cuellar told reporters.
Republicans opposed to the American Rescue Plan, which was billed as another COVID relief measure, pointed out that only about 10 percent of the $1.9 trillion measure went to actual public health and that the bulk of the measure was packed with spending on favored Democrat priorities.
Also, they noted that 95 percent of the money earmarked for education would not be spent in 2021 when the measure passed but rather between 2022 and 2028.
They also pointed out that Congress had already passed five previous COVID relief bills, and that another one at a time when the virus was receding was not necessary since it would only add to the national debt, which now stands at north of $33 trillion.
Overall approval for Biden’s economic policies, meanwhile, is at the lowest point of his presidency, according to a new survey — an important metric, given that many economists believe that the massive spending bills he signed at the beginning of his term have fueled inflation.
“Biden’s economic approval ratings have hit an all-time low as his administration continues to push the claim that ‘Bidenomics’ is working, according to a poll released by Investor’s Business Daily (IBD) on Monday,” The Daily Caller reported earlier this month, citing the survey’s results.
“Approximately 56% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s economic policies as opposed to 24% who approve, a swift drop from the reported 50%-31% in September, according to IBD. The low ratings underscore the problems straining the U.S. economy as inflation continues to rise while wages are by and large failing to keep pace,” the outlet continued.
