White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is not responding to a comment made by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) about Black kids in the Bronx not knowing what a computer is.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, a reporter asked, “New York Gov. Kathy Hochul made a controversial comment yesterday… while discussing the need to bring AI jobs to Black ad brown communities. She said ‘Right now, we have young black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word computer is.’ What is the White House’s response to that?”
“I’m gonna be super mindful. I have not heard these comments, so I want to make sure I go back, read the comments, get a sense of what was happening here,” Jean-Pierre responded.
She added, “I just want to go back and see exactly… I know you’re reading an excerpt or a line from what she said, but I just want to be super, super mindful here.”
The reporter then asked, “Does the White House believe it is right to insinuate that Black kids don’t know what the word computer is?”
“I mean look, obviously we don’t think that is the right way to speak about young people in any way, in any form, but I do want to be mindful and to be fair here and to go back and hear exactly what she said,” Jean-Pierre responded.
Watch the video below:
Q: "NY Gov. Kathy Hochul made a controversial comment yesterday…she said 'Right now, we have young black kids growing up in the Bronx who don't even know what the word computer is.' What is the White House’s response to that?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 7, 2024
KJP: "I'm gonna be super mindful. I have not heard… pic.twitter.com/0EH8BNMjiY
During an event at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on Monday, Hochul said there are “young Black kids growing up in the Bronx who don’t even know what the word ‘computer’ is. They don’t know. They don’t know these things.”
“And I want the world opened up to all of them because when you have their diverse voices innovating solutions through technology, then you’re really addressing society’s broader challenges,” she added.
OMG HAHAHA Governor Kathy Hochul thinks black people don't know what a computer is. pic.twitter.com/TSjMLmiOAc
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 7, 2024
In a statement to The New York Post, Hochul said, “I misspoke and I regret it.”
“Of course Black children in the Bronx know what computers are — the problem is that they too often lack access to the technology needed to get on track to high-paying jobs in emerging industries like AI. That’s why I’ve been focused on increasing economic opportunity since Day One of my Administration,” she added.
