Self-proclaimed historic figure and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is taking umbrage with reporters criticizing how she answered their questions.
After a contentious exchange during a press briefing on Monday, Jean-Pierre scolded reporters for complaining about how she handled their inquiries.
“I just want to take a step back for a second. Because I do take offense to what [CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe] alluded to,” the press secretary said. “I come out here every day there’s a press briefing. And we do our best to give you the information that we have at the time. That’s what we do. And we understand that freedom of the press, we respect the freedom of the press. You heard me talk about this last week. I appreciate the back and forth that we all have. I try to respect you, and I hope you try to respect me,”
Jean-Pierre continued:
“And we literally do everything that we can, My team does everything that we can to make sure we get the answers to you. That’s what we do. And sometimes we disagree. Sometimes we are not in agreement. But you know what? That’s democracy. That is what is important to have that healthy back and forth. And so to say that I’m holding information or allude to anything else is really, really unfair.”
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She added, “I think people who are watching and have been watching this briefing for this past week could say that we are doing our best in this briefing to provide the information that we have, and I will admit, I will be the first one to admit, sometimes I get it wrong. At least, I admit that. At least, I admit that. And sometimes I don’t have the information. And I will always, always admit that. But I do take offense to what was just happening at the beginning of this briefing, it’s not OK.”
Her frustration stems from a question asked by CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe about reports an expert in Parkinson’s disease visited the White House multiple times last year. During the exchange, O’Keefe accused Jean-Pierre of declining to answer a “very basic, direct question” about the visits and whether the doctor was there to see President Joe Biden.
At one point, O’Keefe insisted, “That much you should be able to answer by this point.”
“No, wait a minute. Calm. Ed, please. A little respect here, please. So, every year, around the President’s physical examination, he sees a neurologist. That’s three times, right? So, I am telling you that he has seen a neurologist three times while he has been in this presidency. That’s what I’m saying,” Jean-Pierre responded.
However, she declined to provide more information about who the doctor was seeing, citing privacy concerns as she noted military personnel sometimes see such experts at the White House Medical Unit.
Later in the day, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor released a letter stating Biden did not see a neurologist for concerns about Parkinson’s disease, but as part of his annual physical. He also added, “Many military personnel experience neurological issues related to their service, and Dr. Cannard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this General Neurology practice.”
