White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre snapped and abruptly ended Thursday’s press briefing following a contentious exchange about Vice President Kamala Harris fleeing the mainland for an expensive vacation in Hawaii while Democratic National Committee staff face mass layoffs.
“The president has talked so much about being the most pro-union president ever,” Fox News White House correspondent Mark Meredith said, asking about the latest Harris scandal. “This week, the DNC Staff Union put out a pretty scathing note saying that so many DNC staffers have gotten laid off, no severance — they were shocked.”
“I’m just curious from an optics perspective — the vice president left town to go to Hawaii on vacation. Does the president think that’s appropriate when so many DNC staffers are literally wondering what they’re going to do for work?” she asked.
“All right. Let’s not twist this in so many knots here,” Jean-Pierre snapped back.
“First of all, it’s not the president who called himself the most pro-union president. It’s other unions that have called him that, and he is proud to be called the most pro-union president ever. That is something that he — was given to him, and he is proud to own that.”
“And it’s not because he’s — it’s a — it’s a frivolous statement,” she continued. “It is because he has shown — he has not just spoken but taken action and has had the back of union members and union workers throughout his presidency.”
When pressed about the DNC situation and the coming layoffs, Jean-Pierre attempted to deflect: “As it relates to the DNC, I would have to refer you to the DNC and…”
Meredith started to ask: “But does it look bad for the vice president to go to Hawaii–” but was quickly interrupted.
“The vice president has taken time off to go spend time with her family,” Jean-Pierre inserted. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I think she deserves some time to be with her family and to have some down time.”
“She has worked very hard over the last four years, and her taking a couple of days to be with her family — good for her. Good for her,” before immediately ending the briefing and leaving the room.
The exchange came amid controversy over the DNC workers’ union announcement that permanent employees were dismissed with only one day’s notice and no severance packages.
The union stated the layoffs included permanent employees who had been promised they would retain their positions after the presidential election.
Take a look at the explosive exchange here —
KJP abruptly ends the White House press briefing after she is pressed on Joe Biden calling himself “the most pro-union president,” DNC staffers being left in disarray, and Kamala Harris taking a vacation in Hawaii: pic.twitter.com/gUo1qHD0dF
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) November 21, 2024