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‘No, no, no!’ KJP revamps Biden speech, slaps down CNN reporter asking about ‘plan’ to deal with MAGA ‘threat’

September 5, 2022 | | Print Article

If the President of the United States goes on television and calls half the nation a dangerous threat to the future of democracy, the White House press secretary would be ready to answer a few questions about his plan to combat the “ultra MAGA.”

But when a persistent CNN reporter tried to pin her down, Karine Jean-Pierre pulled the plug and blew him off.

(Video: The White House)

In what is being hailed as “the most violent speech” from a sitting President in American history, Biden took to an ominously-lit stage and ranted about “The Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation.”

According to him, those who wish to see America “Great Again” are backward thugs who “thrive on chaos.”

With such an existential threat to the nation identified, surely the president has a plan to deal with them, right?

This was the question posed by CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond at Friday’s press briefing.

“Hey, Karine, the President last night argued very forcefully that democracy is under assault,” Diamond began. “But what kind of concrete actions does he actually plan to take, given that he described this essentially as a fairly existential threat to the American republic?”

In an extraordinary display of mental gymnastics, Jean-Pierre attempted to downplay the seriousness of Biden’s allegations and paint the dystopian speech as “optimistic.”

“So, as — as you also heard from the president yesterday, he believes we’re at an inflection point. And so — so that’s an important thing, why he wanted to make sure he gave that speech,” she replied. “But you also heard the president express optimism — right? — about the future of America, which was something that was important for him to deliver to the American people, that he believes there’s nothing — there’s isn’t nothing we can — we can’t do. Right?”

“He believes that we can do everything — anything, as — as a country,” she continued, managing to still completely avoid Diamond’s question. “And then, we have seen throughout our history, America has made its greatest progress out of the darkest times. We see that for — before.”

“One way, of course, we can do that is by making our voices heard. And he said that. He said that the American people have a choice,” she said.

While the nation — and the world — heard the president demonize conservatives, it would seem Jean-Pierre heard a unifying pep talk.

“It wasn’t just a policy speech,” she stated. “Obviously, the president believes that we can make great progress out of the darkest moments. And he calls on all Americans, regardless of which aisle — side of the aisle you sit on, regardless which ideology that you may follow, regardless of the political persuasion, to unite around democracy.”

“And he thought it was an important message — again, an inflection point,” she said. “And that was the message that he delivered, again, giving people a choice and saying to folks, ‘We need to come together and make sure our voices are heard.'”

Diamond wasn’t buying it and pressed her harder.

“So, other than urging Americans to vote and make their voices heard, the president has no plan to confront this threat that he described very forcefully last night?” he asked.

According to the press sec, it doesn’t matter if the president thought things through when he vilified tens of millions of Americans. His words were “powerful,” and he’s talked about it before.

“I mean, it’s not the first time he’s confronted — confronted or spoke about this threat. This is — he’s done it multiple times at multiple stages during the last three years — during his campaign a couple of times as well, during his administration. And he’ll continue to lift that up when he feels it’s needed,” Jean-Pierre replied.

“But what the president did last night was incredibly powerful. It was clear. It was concise. It was steadfast, which is — and he did it prime time, as you all know, to the American people, speaking directly to them, that this is a time for us to come together,” she maintained.

Still not an answer, Karine.

Diamond tried a third time.

“Right,” he said. “But what I’m asking is if there’s any action behind his words.”

Words, a now irritated Jean-Pierre insisted, are powerful.

“Well, the action is making your voices heard. That is a powerful action. We have seen it across time, we have seen it throughout our American history that making your voices heard actually can change — actually can change the direction of a country,” she stated. “So, I would say that is the most powerful tool that we have as a country right now.”

After a brief back-and-forth about Biden’s ill-conceived plan to have members of the Marines flank him as he yelled about his political adversaries, Diamond tried one last time to get the press secretary to answer his question — and that’s when Jean-Pierre, clearly out of ways to avoid a truthful response, shut him down.

“Just to follow up–” Diamond began.

“No,” Jean-Pierre interrupted. “You’ve asked — you’ve asked three questions.”

“Well,” a frustrated Diamond said, “you didn’t answer the first question until–”

“I did,” the press sec argued. “No. No, no, no, I answered the first question. You just — you know, I had to just dive in a little bit more, but I certainly answered it because I said, ‘Making your voices heard is a powerful tool.’”

“I answered it the first time you asked,” she snapped. “I’m going to go around.”

Melissa Fine
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