On Tuesday, President Joe Biden visited North Carolina, and he described himself as “only 40 years old, times two, plus one.”
But White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t take the same tone about Jean-Pierre’s age and mental acuity.
Jean-Pierre spoke to Charlotte WBT News Director Mark Garrison, and she ended the interview abruptly after receiving a question about Biden’s mental acuity.
Garrison began by relaying some of his listeners’ questions.
“When I told a number of people that I was talking to you today, it was interesting, though. They all said, ‘Would you please just ask her, ‘Does the president have dementia?’ So before I move on from it, does he?” Garrison said, acknowledging the subject as sensitive. “People ask it.”
Jean-Pierre dismissed the listener’s questions, gave a monologue, and hung up the phone.
Now, the White House is defending Jean-Pierre’s abrupt sign-off.
In a statement, The White House told The Daily Beast that Jean-Pierre had allowed only seven minutes for Garrison’s questions, and they said that she’d disclosed her time constraints beforehand.
The White House also accused the station of cutting portions of the interview and adding a sound effect after Jean-Pierre’s exit.
“As she often does when the President travels, Karine had multiple back-to-back interviews with radio stations who were each offered seven minutes. Once the agreed-upon time was over, she called into the next interview so everyone could get their full time,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told the outlet.
“This particular station chose not to air the full interview and instead artificially attached a sound effect that our phones do not make when calls end.”
Even if the White House is telling the truth, Jean-Pierre still exited the interview abruptly.
Garrison even exclaimed, “She hung up!”
Listen to the interview here —
AUDIO: Biden's Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre hangs up on radio host after he asked if Biden has dementia 😭 pic.twitter.com/8vrmYMbImF
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 26, 2024
Investigative reporters have yet to uncover a clinical diagnosis of dementia.
“Mark,” Jean-Pierre said. “I can’t even believe you’re asking me this question. That is an incredibly offensive question to ask.”
The radio host accused Jean-Pierre of shooting the messenger.
“But, you know people ask it,” he said.
Jean Pierre asked voters to watch the president themselves.
“For the past several years, the president’s physician has laid out very, in a comprehensive way, the president’s health. This is a president — if you watch him every day, if you really pay attention to his record and what he has done, you will see exactly how focused he’s been on the American people, how historic his actions have been,” Jean Pierre said.
“And so I’m not even going to truly, truly, really, you know, take, take the premise of your question. I think it is incredibly insulting. And, and so we can, you know, we can move on to the next question.”
Garrison complied, and he asked Jean-Pierre about grocery prices instead.
The Horn editorial team