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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre came under fire again this week over her inability to answer a basic question.
During the press briefing, a reporter asked KJP about President Joe Biden publicly lashing out at Saudi Arabia for its decision to slash oil production along with its OPEC allies. Biden and his administration, of course, accused the Saudis of working with Russia.
Below is a transcript of the exchange:
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Reporter: “There’s been talk about reassessing the relationship with Saudi Arabia. What is the administration planning to do at this point as far as reassessing? Would it involve weapon sales, [inaudible]? Can you talk about some of the options here?”
Jean-Pierre: “So, from the beginning of the administration, since taking office, the President has been very clear that the United States needs to — needs a different sort of relationship with Saudi Arabia. He has said that from very early on. And I have said this last week when OPEC made the decision to align their energy policy with Russia’s war aims and against the American people further underscores that reasoning to realign that relationship, to reevaluate that relationship with Saudi Arabia. We are reviewing where we are currently right now and we’ll be watching closely over the coming weeks and months as well, consulting with our allies, and also with our — with members of Congress, and decisions will be made once that — once that — once that policy review is underway. And so — but to be clear, I’m not going to get ahead of that. But that’s the process that we’re going to take next.”
Reporter: “What is the timeline for the review?”
Jean-Pierre: “We don’t have a timeline, but clearly this is something that we’re going to closely monitor. And we have said from the beginning, we need to kind of reassess and have a different relationship with Saudi Arabia, especially after the decision that was made by OPEC Plus, and we were very clear about that last week. Go ahead.”
Reporter 2: “Thanks, Karine. Does President Biden believe that Saudi Arabia sides with Russia in this war?”
Jean-Pierre: “Well, we believe by the decision that OPEC Plus made last week, they certainly are aligning themselves with Russia. And right now, this is not a time to be aligning with Russia, especially with this brutal, unprecedented war that they have started in Ukraine. And we’ve been very clear about that. The President has been very clear about that since the beginning of this war. And so, this action that they took, this decision that OPEC Plus made last week proves that that’s where they are aligning their energy policy, is with Russia.”
WATCH:
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy and Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre engaged in another epic exchange during a briefing on Monday.
Specifically, Jean-Pierre appeared to stumble when trying to answer direct questions regarding the most recent inflation figures and what President Joe Biden and his administration are doing to provide more economic relief to Americans who have been suffering through inflation at 40-year highs for months.
Doocy asked the press secretary a series of questions, beginning with why, if Biden really believed that battling inflation is his top domestic priority, Americans have not seen much progress on that front at all.
“Following up on something you said earlier, if President Biden’s top domestic priority is inflation, why doesn’t he have more to show for it?” Doocy asked.
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“So, the president understands, and we’ve talked about this many times, that inflation is an issue … high cost … cost is an issue for the American people, and so he’s been very clear about making that his number one economic priority. And he has done the work,” Jean-Pierre claimed.
She then pivoted to praise for the Inflation Reduction Act, saying that it was “going to lower costs” for senior citizens around the country by putting caps on Medicare prescription drug costs while throwing shade at Republicans who did not vote for the measure because they did not believe it would actually reduce inflation. Jean-Pierre then said that the GOP would move to repeal the act if they could and argued doing so would only “make things worse.”
Doocy followed that exchange up by asking: “But who exactly thinks the president is doing a good job on inflation? Because we’ve got a poll that finds he receives his lowest job ratings on inflation, net negative 38 points.”
“We understand that there are challenges that are in front of us here in this country, that is why the president has taken action to lower costs,” Jean-Pierre argued, going on to mention the price of gas as one example, though in recent days, prices have been rising again around the country.
DOOCY TIME: “[I]f [Biden’s] top domestic priority is inflation, why doesn’t he have more to show for it?”
KJP: “So, [he] understands…inflation is an issue…Cost is an issue for the American people, and so he’s been very clear about making that his #1 economic priority” pic.twitter.com/jmJXsfAjMQ
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 17, 2022
Doocy: “Have [Biden’s] economic advisors told him the general consensus now is that the American Rescue Plan has contributed to inflation?”
KJP: “Look, Sec. Yellen, who is incredibly well respected…has spoken to this…[His policies] are popular w/the American people.” pic.twitter.com/LXLEaymw0Q
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 17, 2022
