White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been criticized heavily since taking over for Jean Psaki, who left the Biden administration for a job at cable news channel MSNBC.
Jean-Pierre has been described as “hapless” and “like a deer in headlights” by critics.
An exchange with Fox News chief White House correspondent Peter Doocy on Monday about the controversial Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 highlighted the criticisms — and left one commentator saying Jean-Pierre looked like she was ready to cry and flee the room.
Doocy asked why the White House claimed the bill wouldn’t raise taxes, despite experts saying otherwise. The massive tax and spend bill is being considered in the U.S. Senate after moderate Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., voiced his support.
“Is President Biden considering pulling his support for the Inflation Reduction Act?” Doocy asked.
“No,” Jean-Pierre responded.
“Because, he promised it wasn’t going to raise taxes on anybody making less than $400,000 a year, but the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) says that is not true,” Doocy said.
“Well, that is incorrect,” Jean-Pierre said.
“So, the Joint Committee on Taxation — which you guys heralded as an effective body when you were selling that infrastructure package — is not to be trusted here?” Doocy asked.
“I said it was not correct, and I’ll give you why it’s not correct,” Jean-Pierre responded. “It is because it is incomplete. The JCT report that we’re seeing is incomplete because it omits the actual benefits that Americans would receive” from the bill and that experts agreed.
Doocy then asked about a University of Pennsylvania Wharton budget model that showed the bill would increase inflationary pressure by 2024.
“So, we agree with Senator Manchin, you heard him a couple of times yesterday, and disagree with Penn Wharton — as do a number of qualified experts, which I’m happy to read out,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“But, I do want to say that it is quite ironic that congressional Republicans are complaining or have a false outrage on this Inflation Reduction Act that is actually going to do something and help the American people lower costs when they have offered really nothing to do that,” she said.
“What they have offered is to increase taxes on Americans making less than $100,000 a year, and what they have introduced is actually sunsetting Medicare and sunsetting, also, Social Security after 5 years,” Jean-Pierre continued. “That’s how they want to deal with how to help the American people.”
“We’re talking about doing the complete opposite.”
Conservatives pounced on the exchange and said Jean-Pierre looked like she wanted to “flee the room in tears.”
“Doocy is just shaming Jean Pierre on the daily now. It’s too easy. She looks like she just want to flee the room in tears when he asks a question,” conservative commentator Michael Berry tweeted. “I know nobody liked Psaki, but I said at the time, & I maintain, she did a good job considering how awful reality is for them.”
You can see the exchange here —
Peter Doocy grills Karine Jean-Pierre over the "Inflation Reduction Act":
"It is quite ironic that Congressional Republicans are complaining or have a false outrage on this Inflation Reduction Act that is actually going to do something and help the American people…" pic.twitter.com/mcP3ZAzNDg
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 1, 2022