A question by CNN about President Joe Biden’s health flustered White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday — and how she responded went viral.
When asked about concerns over the 79-year-olds mental and physical capabilities by CNN host Don Lemon on Monday, Jean-Pierre was dismissive.
“Does the president have the stamina — physically and mentally — do you think to continue on even after 2024?” Lemon asked.
“Don, you’re asking me this question?” Jean-Pierre laughed, visibly flustered by the query. “Oh my gosh! He’s the president of the United States. I can’t even keep up with him.”
“We just got back from New Mexico,” she continued. “We just got back from California.
“That is not a question that we should even be asking! Just look at the work he does,” she said. “And look how he’s delivering for the American public.”
Jean-Pierre dismissed the recent New York Times report that up to 50 top Democratic Party leaders were questioning Biden’s mental acumen and whether he should run for reelection. She called the report “hearsay and salacious.”
“That’s not what we care about,” she said. “We care about how we’re going to deliver for the American people. ‘How are we going to make their lives better?'”
“That is what the president talks about. That is his focus. That’s where we’re going to continue to focus on.”
DON LEMON: "Does the president has the stamina, physically and mentally, do you think to continue on even after 2024?"
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: "That is not a question that we should be even asking" pic.twitter.com/dUfQil9qKp
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 14, 2022
Biden became the older person ever to be inaugurated president in January 2021, and health questions have dogged his administration ever since.
Jean-Pierre also took to social media to deny the New York Times report —
To be clear, as the President has said repeatedly, he plans to run in 2024.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) June 13, 2022
Since taking over for former press secretary Jen Psaki in May, Jean-Pierre has also been targeted by critics as evasive and ineffective. Psaki left the position for a lucrative job at MSNBC.
During Monday’s daily briefing, the press secretary was asked for an update on the baby formula crisis. “Let me see if I have anything new for you on that,” Jean-Pierre replied.
She flipped through her binder of pre-prepared answers for a few moments, then admitted she was unprepared.
“I don’t have anything new,” she said. “I know we made some announcements last week. I just don’t have them in front of me.”
“But if you want to come back and we’ll talk through the things that we have been able to do in the past, what the most recent activities that we’ve done,” she said.
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