In recent years, conservatives have been warning against “woke” politicians, corporations, and policies.
And on Tuesday, a reporter asked if President Joe Biden is “woke.”
During a press briefing, Newsmax reporter James Rosen noted, “One of the most prominent themes that we hear from both elected Republicans and candidates has to do with what is called ‘wokeism.’ And we hear about an ‘anti-woke’ agenda.”
“And so, we hear so much talk about ‘woke capitalism,’ a ‘woke military,’ and so on,” he continued before asking, “I wonder if we couldn’t begin with a threshold question to wit: Is President Biden woke?”
One reporter appeared to ask, “what?” when he heard the question.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded, “The President doesn’t concern himself about what Republicans are trying to do in creating political stunts, in making an issue out of the things that they feel benefits them politically — not the American people, not what matters to the American people, but what benefits them politically for their ability to move forward.”
Watch the video below:
“Is President Biden woke?”
— The Recount (@therecount) February 14, 2023
— Newsmax reporter to White House Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre pic.twitter.com/bW4IcAjqA6
Apparently unsatisfied by her response, Rosen asked, “So you wouldn’t describe him as ‘woke'”?
Jean-Pierre continued to say Biden wants to work with Republicans on “how we are going to build on the economic progress that we’re seeing.”
“That’s not what they want to do. What they want to do is they want to cut Social Security. What they want to do is they want to cut Medicare,” she claimed. “And they want to take us back and not actually deal with issues that matter to the American people.”
Biden has been hammering Republicans over the issue of Social Security. He has seized on a plan from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), which he says will “sunset Social Security and Medicare every five years.”
Scott’s plan states, “All federal legislation sunsets in 5 years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.” However, Republicans pushed back on the president when he brought up his claim during the State of the Union, as IJR reported.
Merriam-Webster defines “woke” as being “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).”
However, Republicans and conservatives turned the phrase into a catch-all for liberal ideas and policies they disagree with, such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and the Green New Deal.
While Jean-Pierre declined to address the question of whether Biden is “woke,” he has ushered in an administration directed through an executive order to promote “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” in the federal government — which he reportedly wants to make a model for the nation.
So even by the narrow standard of Merriam-Webster, it is fair to say Biden is “woke.”
