White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre walked out of a White House press briefing during a heated exchange with Fox News’ Peter Doocy over funding for victims of Hurricane Helene and misinformation about the response from the government.
The two have butted heads previously, but the showdown Monday was their most intense to date. The two exchanged back-and-forths rapidly, frequently talking over each other and numerous points and arguing about what the other said.
The exchange ended when Jean-Pierre slammed her briefing binder closed and left the podium after 49 minutes of questions. Typically, she briefs for around an hour.
During the exchange, Jean-Pierre was mocked on social media for attempting an outfit inspired by Guys and Dolls — an oversized blazer and purple shirt.
The exchange began cordially. Doocy congratulated Jean-Pierre on her promotion to President Joe Biden’s senior advisor and then moved on to his questions.
Doocy inquired about hurricane funding and whether the President would bring back Congress so that they could allocate additional money to the victims.
“President Biden is fond of saying, show me your budget, and I will tell you what you value. If he’s got money for people in Lebanon right now, without Congress having to come back, what does it say about his values? There’s not enough money right now in North Carolina. That’s not misinformation,” said Doocy.
Jean-Pierre had spent a significant amount of her briefing defending conspiracy theories and false information on the Internet about hurricane relief.
There have been claims relief money was only going to Dems and conspiracy theories the federal government was intending to engage in a land grab.
The administration maintains these claims have led to confusion and chaos in states like North Carolina and Georgia, where cell phone service and power are limited.
Jean-Pierre had called those individuals “bad-faith actors” and said it was “wrong, dangerous, and must stop immediately.”
Therefore, when Doocy asked her if his question was misinformation, Jean-Pierre snapped, “The whole premise of your question is misinformation, sir.”
“Excuse me,” replied Doocy.
The press secretary outlined the $200 million the government sent to the impacted area and additional funding.
Doocy repeated his question about President Biden and said it “is not misinformation. Would you agree?”
“No,” said Jean-Pierre. “Not the way you’re asking me. The question is misinformation.”
“You can’t call a question you don’t like misinformation,” pushed back Doocy.
Jean-Pierre noted she had said additional funding would be needed, particularly after Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida later this week.
“That’s exactly what I just asked about,” said Doocy.
“What you’re asking me is why Congress needs to come back and do their job. That’s what you’re asking me. Congress needs to come back and do their job and provide extra assistance, extra funding to Disaster Relief Fund. That’s what Congress needs to do, and we’re going to continue to urge that. You may not want that, but that’s okay. That’s what this President wants, and that’s what the Vice President wants,” said Jean-Pierre.
With that, she slammed her briefing binder shut, said, “Thanks, everybody,” and left the briefing room.
