Media

White House Briefing Room Erupts As Reporter Yells At Jean-Pierre

[Twitter Screenshot National Review]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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The White House briefing room erupted into chaos Wednesday as press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a reporter she was being “incredibly rude” when asking about the president’s mental state.

President Joe Biden appeared to call out for Republican Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski on Wednesday while speaking at a White House conference on hunger, nutrition and health. Walorski was tragically killed in a car crash in early August.

“And I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like Representative McGovern, Senator Braun, Senator Booker, Representative – Jackie, you here? Where’s Jackie?” Biden asked as he looked around. “I didn’t think she was gonna be here.”

Jean-Pierre was pressed on Biden’s apparent gaffe during a press briefing.

“Look, [Biden] was at an event, you all saw, you all watched, which is why you’re asking the question, right, where he was calling out again, congressional leaders, bipartisan leadership that we have seen on this particular issue,” Jean-Pierre said. “And, again, he’s going to see her family in just two days, and she was on top of mind. I mean, that is, that is not an unusual scenario there.”

“Karine, I have John Lennon top of mind just about everyday but I’m not looking around for him anywhere,” Newsmax’s James Rosen followed up.

“When you sign a bill for John Lennon as President then we can have this conversation,” Jean-Pierre responded.

“These moments of confusion are happening — Americans are watching this and are concerned. What do you say to that? This is a legitimate question, we need to have some answer,” one reporter could be heard saying as the room breaks out into questions.

A male reporter then begins to ask a separate question, and Jean-Pierre cuts him off, saying “I’m sorry, someone was yelling over you.”

The female reporter, however, once again begins to speak at the same time as the other male reporter demanding answers on Biden’s cognitive abilities. (RELATED: ‘Does Biden Think America’s Big Cities Are Safe?’: Doocy Presses Jean-Pierre On Rising Crime Rates)

“It is not your turn to speak and you’re being rude to your colleagues,” the press secretary said. “You’re yelling over your colleague so that is incredibly rude.”

The reporter could be heard shooting back that saying Walorski was “top of mind” for Biden is not a sufficient answer.

The late Congresswoman, along with Democratic Massachusetts Rep. James P. McGovern, New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Republican Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, introduced bipartisan legislation in Oct. 2021 to “convene a second national White House conference on food, nutrition, hunger and health.”