Liberal journalists raised eyebrows at White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s refusal to say whether President Joe Biden will serve a second term if re-elected.
Jean-Pierre dodged reporters’ questions on concerns regarding the 80-year-old president’s age and whether he will serve a full second term after his official announcement for his re-election bid Tuesday. Members of the liberal and corporate media criticized the press secretary for telling reporters she will not “get ahead” of Biden on serving a full term.
“I’m just not gonna get ahead of the president,” Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday’s briefing about Biden serving a full term. “That’s something for him to decide, I’m just not gonna get ahead of it. There’s a 2024 campaign. Anything else related to that, I would refer you to that.”
Jean-Pierre later backtracked her comments saying that Biden intends to serve all eight years.
As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn’t go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years. https://t.co/n9OfMV4D1Y
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) April 25, 2023
“Remarkable answer on the day he launches his 2024 campaign!” Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote.
Remarkable answer on the day he launches his 2024 campaign! https://t.co/pHo0XgA6Zg
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 25, 2023
Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said Jean-Pierre made an “ill-timed effort” by avoiding answers about his presidential run. The White House staffers have vowed not to violate the Hatch Act, which prevents government officials from discussing any content that could influence an election. (RELATED: KJP Asks Jean-Pierre Why Biden Is Running For President At 80 Years Old)
“Amid voter concern about the president’s age, the press secretary making an ill-timed effort not to violate the Hatch Act, cleaning that up on Twitter, writing, ‘As you know, we take following the law seriously. So I wanted to be sure that I didn’t go into 2024 more than is appropriate under the law. But I can confirm that if re-elected, @POTUS would serve all 8 years.’ But other inquiries might not get an immediate response.”
RealClearPolitics co-founder and president Tom Bevan appeared critical of Jean-Pierre for blaming the Hatch Act for not answering questions about the president’s intentions.
“KJP blames the Hatch Act again,” he said.
KJP blames the Hatch Act again. https://t.co/ryb6erOrlm
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) April 26, 2023
Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson also pointed out the press secretary’s “clean-up.”
Clean-up ——> https://t.co/03jiE1vrfN
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) April 25, 2023
Liberal commentator Ron Filipkowski called out the Jean-Piece for making a “glaring and obvious” mistake on “the simplest possible” question.
On behalf of everyone being asked to put countless hours of time and toil into this, can the “pros” please not make glaring and obvious mistakes like this on the simplest possible questions. https://t.co/mKpZl9Ej69
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) April 25, 2023
Biden is currently the oldest presidential candidate and would be the oldest president to serve in the Oval Office if he wins a second term. He would be 86 years old at the end of his second term.
Countless polls have found many Democratic voters and politicians have expressed concern over Biden’s age. A New York Times/Siena poll from July 2022 found 64% of Democratic voters do not want Biden to run for a second term, with the majority citing his age. A Yahoo/YouGov poll from March found 68% of likely voters think Biden is “too old for another term as a president,” with about 48% of likely Democratic voters saying Biden’s age is an issue for reelection.