White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre abruptly disconnected the call while speaking with Charlotte’s WBT News Director Mark Garrison during a talk radio interview on Tuesday.
Garrison irked Jean-Pierre by asking, “When I told a number of people that I was talking to you today, it was interesting though, They all said, ‘would you please just ask her? Does the president have dementia?’ And so, before I move on from it, does he?”
“That — Mark, Mark, I can’t even believe you’re asking me this question. That is a credibly offensive question to ask,” replied Jean-Pierre.
“But, you know people ask it?” Garrison shot back.
“Wait. Oh let me — no, no, no, no, no. You — Mark, you, you, you, you, you’re taking us down this rabbit hole. Let me, let me, let me be very clear about this,” replied Jean-Pierre, adding:
For the past several years, the president’s physician has laid out very, in a comprehensive way, the president’s health. This is a president — if you watch him every day, if you really pay attention to his record and what he has done, you will see exactly how focused he’s been on the American people, how historic his actions have been. And so I’m not even going to truly, truly, really, you know, take, take the premise of your question. I think it is incredibly insulting. And, and so we can, you know, we can move on to the next question.
Garrison quickly moved on and asked, “Gas prices and grocery prices are big topics here in North Carolina. How does Mr. Biden win votes when people don’t have as much disposable income?”
“Look the president understands. He grew up in a middle-class family. Working class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He gets it. He understands how difficult it is for Americans who are sitting around their kitchen table every month trying to figure out what they’re going to pay for. You have to remember, when the president walked into this administration, there were multiple crises happening,” Jean-Pierre replied, continuing:
There was Covid, there was, the economy was in a tailspin because of the last administration, because of what the President Trump left us with. Now you’re asking me about gas prices. The president took action on gas prices. Let’s not forget Russia’s invasion on Ukraine skyrocketed prices of gas. And because the president took action, we see we are in a different place than we were a year ago in gas prices. Eggs, milk, seafood products, all the important groceries, those costs have gone down because of what this president has been able to do. And, and with that, thank you so much, Mark. Have an amazing, amazing day.
At this point in the conversation, Jean-Pierre hung up the phone.
“Wow, wow, wow. I mean, Mark, is this? Listen, I am nominating you to get a press corps badge, and you need to go to the White House,” jumped in another radio host.
“I’m sorry, but you asked three, four incredibly salient, important questions that are all front of mind. Nothing out of bounds. No baba booeying or anything like that. Right? And you did it exactly right on. And I don’t understand. I don’t understand the fragility of this person,” concluded the other host.
Wow. Karine Jean-Pierre just hung up on a North Carolina radio show after being asked whether Joe Biden has dementia and about the bad economy.
pic.twitter.com/jSUnAWkCvs— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) March 26, 2024
Listen to the clip above.