A White House reporter continuously pressed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about President Joe Biden’s trip to Ireland as she attempted to leave the briefing room Tuesday.
The president, who often emphasizes his Irish heritage, traveled to Ireland along with his sister, Valerie, and his son, Hunter, during the second week of April to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The reporter asked whether his family members paid for the airfare and accommodations on the “highly personal trip.”
“Did Valerie and Hunter Biden, who flew on Air Force One, did they contribute? Did they pay for airfare, accommodations, ground transportation?” the reporter asked.
“Look, this is not the first time — let’s be very, very, clear — it is consistent with other presidents when they’ve had other family travel with them abroad. This is nothing new, so I just want to make sure that we make that very clear to the American people. And of course, we follow every protocol that any other president … has taken when their family has traveled. And so, yes,” Jean-Pierre said.
The reporter continued to press Jean-Pierre on the matter as she shut her binder. She repeated that the president took every necessary protocol related to traveling abroad with family members. (RELATED: Doocy Presses KJP On Chinese Energy Company Paying Biden Family Members)
“We did nothing different than past presidents. And so, yes, they paid for their way,” she said.
“For their share?” the reporter asked.
“This is not unusual. This is not the first time that family have traveled with presidents, so ‘there’s no there there’ as they would say,” the press secretary concluded, stepping away from the podium.