(SNews) – The White House was forced to issue a correction after Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre falsely claimed that Joe Biden has taken more questions from the press than former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush combined.
Jean-Pierre made the false claim during Tuesday’s press briefing when reporters grilled her on President Biden’s lack of interaction with the media.
Biden refuses to sit for interviews and does not hold press conferences where reporters can go back and forth with him as Trump did all the time and Obama did frequently.
Reporters asked Jean-Pierre why Biden refuses to speak with the press.
Jean-Pierre responded by saying:
“The President regularly — and takes questions from the press informally — informally as well at different locations and different formats. Right before he got on Air Force One, he took about five very newsy questions for all of you, which I think was very important for all of you.
“The informal and informative Q&A that President Biden engages in the — in with the press corps is more than — more than the last three Presidents.
“If you think about the informal questions and the formal questions.
“And I told — I mentioned to all of you yesterday that we actually had some — some data to share.
“It’s more than Presidents Trump; it’s more than Obama — Obama — combined.
“And here you go. To your question, he has answered over 320 questions, and that’s not even including more — more formal press conference and interviews.
“So look, we’re going to try and — we’re going to keep — be consistent in his engagement with reporters.”
The White House was forced to replace each instance Jean-Pierre said “questions” with “question-and-answer sessions.”
In place of Jean-Pierre’s claim that Biden had taken more questions than Trump, Obama, and Bush, unnamed WH officials also added: “in the first 20 months of their presidencies.”
She tried to make the same claims during a press conference earlier but was called out by a reporter, as Slay News reported.
slaynews.com/news/white-house-corrects-jean-pierres-absurd-claim-that-biden-has-taken-more-press-questions-than-trump-obama-and-bush-combined/
