Newly-appointed White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a rough start to her new position on Monday in an exchange with Fox News’ Peter Doocy. During a press conference, the reporter asked her about President Joe Biden’s recent comments on the economy when he suggested raising taxes on large corporations would somehow alleviate the inflation problems Americans are experiencing. The White House Press Briefing was marred by one of the worst moments you will ever see.
During the exchange, Doocy asked: “The president’s Twitter account posted the other day. ‘You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share.’ How does raising taxes on corporations reduce inflation?”
Jean-Pierre gave a meandering response that did not even come close to answering Doocy’s question. “Well, you know, we have talked about…we have talked about this this past year about making sure that the wealthiest among us are paying their fair share,” she stammered. “And that is important to do. This is something that the president has worked on everyday when talking about inflation or lowering costs. And so it’s very important that, you know, as we’re seeing costs rise, as we’re talking about how to, you know, build an America that’s safe, that’s equal for everyone and doesn’t leave anyone behind. That is an important part of that as well.”
After trying to consume that word salad, Doocy pressed, asking again how raising taxes on corporations would “lower the cost of gas, the cost of a used car, the cost of food for everyday Americans.”
Jean-Pierre attempted it again.
“So, look, I think we encourage those who have done very well, right? People who are concerned about climate change should support fairer tax codes. That doesn’t change. It doesn’t charge manufacturers, workers, cops, builders a higher percentage of their earnings that the most fortunate people in our nation and not let that stand in the way of reducing energy costs and fighting this existential problem, if you think about that as an example. It is important to protect basic collective bargaining rights. That’s also important. But look, it is, you know, by not without having a fair tax code, which is what I’m talking about, then like manufacturing workers, cops. You know, it’s not fair for them to have to pay higher taxes than the folks that who are who are who are not paying taxes at all.”
Doocy did not give up and kept pushing for an accurate answer. “But what does that have to do with inflation?” he asked. He pointed to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ response to Biden’s tweet suggesting that raising taxes on corporations will solve the inflation problem. He noted how Bezos suggested the new Disinformation Governance Board should flag Biden’s tweet as misinformation.
Peter Doocy has just totally STUMPED Psaki on her first day
It’s so embarrassing. She’s DONE. pic.twitter.com/Ifuv4aGg0H
— Danny De Urbina (@dannydeurbina) May 16, 2022
Jean-Pierre answered the question again. He was probably hoping for the third chance. She responded:
“Look, it’s not a huge mystery why one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth, right, opposes an economic agenda that is for the middle class that cut some of the biggest costs. Long-term inflation and fights are inevitable for families. Right. And that’s what we’re talking about. That’s why we’re we’re talking about lowering inflation here and adds to the historic deficit reduction the president is achieving by asking the richest taxpayers and corporations to pay their fair share. That is what we’re talking about.”
Do you recognize any of these words? You might have kept up with the ongoing feud between Bezos’ and the White House. Jean-Pierre’s response was almost word-for-word the text of a statement released by the White House in response to Bezos’ criticisms. She was reading from the actual statement at the podium in an attempt to address Doocy’s question. She was actually reading from her notebook, responding to Doocy’s questions, for most of the conference.
This wasn’t exactly a good showing for Jean-Pierre. Two things I can acknowledge in her defense are: For starters, she’s new to the job and is not practiced enough. This is likely to improve with time. But secondly, spinning her boss’ ridiculous comments in a way that makes sense to the American public is about as easy as getting Rep. Eric Swalwell to say something intelligent, for a change. Even Psaki would have been forced to “circle back” when asked how raising taxes on corporations would solve the inflation problem.
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