OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was torched on Monday after she struggled mightily to answer questions about reports that there had been Chinese spy balloons during the Trump administration, yet no one from the administration was ever informed.
During the White House press briefing, a reporter asked Jean-Pierre, “How is it possible that this administration discovered at least three previous balloons that flew over the U.S. under the previous administration, but Trump officials didn’t know it was happening?”
Jean-Pierre’s response set off a frenzy of reactions.
“Yeah, so, look, I think that — and we have talked about this before, about how the — when it — when the PRC government surveillance balloons transited the continental U.S. briefly at least three times, as you just mentioned, during the President’s — the prior administration and once that we know of the beginning of this administration’s,” she said. “But never for this duration of time, as we know.”
Many conservatives on social media torched KJP for her response.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted, “What a load of crap.”
What a load of crap. https://t.co/Ler1mJ9yGw
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) February 6, 2023
“It’s so cringe to watch her lie, deflect, mumble, stumble, make it up as she goes along and ignore adult questions,” public relations specialist Cheryl Riley tweeted,
It’s so cringe to watch her lie, deflect, mumble, stumble, make it up as she goes along and ignore adult questions..
— Cheryl Riley (@Cheryl4moco) February 6, 2023
Independent Women’s Forum fellow Erin Perrine slammed the spokeswoman for not appearing prepared for the question.
“KJP does a disservice when she does not prep on simple questions like this. It has been news today that Trump admin officials were on the record saying these types of Chinese balloons did not happen then,” she tweeted. “Seriously folks. Not hard to guess what questions might come up. Prep.”
KJP does a disservice when she does not prep on simple questions like this.
It has been news today that Trump admin officials were on the record saying these types of Chinese balloons did not happen then.
Seriously folks. Not hard to guess what questions might come up. Prep. https://t.co/QHu4Nbts29
— Erin Perrine (@ErinMPerrine) February 6, 2023
Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich tweeted, “They’re making this up to somehow make Biden’s disastrous and embarrassing response better. It’s pathetic and dangerous.”
They’re making this up to somehow make Biden’s disastrous and embarrassing response better. It’s pathetic and dangerous. https://t.co/PqGsZgwrCs https://t.co/N8A10dwMpp
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 6, 2023
Jean-Pierre’s tumultuous month keeps getting worse.
Several members of the mainstream media, who are typically friendly to her and Democrats, are slamming Jean-Pierre after she spent the last few weeks avoiding questions about President Joe Biden’s handling of sensitive documents. Several press briefings resulted in KJP snapping at reporters for daring to ask questions about the scandal.
During a segment on “The Five,” the panelists spoke about retired Rear Adm. John Kirby’s joining the press briefing recently and how he at least attempted to answer some tough questions — unlike Jean-Pierre.
Host Jesse Watters quipped that Jean-Pierre “talks like a binder” and has repeated the same canned lines and purported deflections over and over.
“Kirby has the wherewithal to be able to dance and dip appropriately and talk like a human being,” Watters said. “[Jean-Pierre] can’t talk like a human being. She talks like a binder.”
Watters added he believes Jean-Pierre’s job performance could lead to her departure from the White House in the coming months.
Judge Jeanine Pirro added KJP is either “complicit in blocking the information” from the public or simply “inaccurate” in her position presidential attorneys must field such a proportion of the press’ questions.
“But the most important thing is their own self-esteem. I mean, how does the woman go out there? Did she not know how embarrassing it is, how she looks ridiculous?”
In another segment, Fox News contributor Joe Concha said the Biden classified documents scandal proved that Jean-Pierre is not fit for her role as press secretary.
“Karine Jean-Pierre has shown that she is not qualified for this job at this level. We’ve seen that now over the last couple of months because she keeps saying over and over again — as if she’s almost programmed like she has no ability to think extemporaneously — that the president ‘takes these documents very seriously’,” he said.
“In one press conference, she’s literally said that line 17 times. And at the same time, she talks about how transparent the administration has been with the public – while not answering questions. You’re telling me there isn’t one person that took a log of who was going in and out to see the sitting president of the United States? I have a very hard time believing that,” Concha said.
Jean-Pierre has also been grilled in recent weeks by reporters who dared to ask her about Biden’s classified documents scandal.
Republicans are sounding warning bells after classified documents were discovered in the garage of President Biden’s Wilmington home as well as his think tank.
There are also questions surrounding a lack of transparency on why the U.S. Secret Service does not have any visitor logs from Biden’s Delaware home.
