White House says it will continue to call Trump 'threat' after Jan. 6
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was pressed Tuesday about referring to former President Trump as a 'threat' to democracy despite multiple attempts on his life.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was skewered online for defending the administration’s rhetoric about former President Trump following the latest assassination attempt against him.
After he was rushed off a West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course on Sunday because the Secret Service discovered a gunman in the bushes, Trump argued that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ "rhetoric" is what is causing him to be "shot at."
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre, "How many more assassination attempts on Donald Trump until the president and vice president and you pick a different word to describe Trump, other than ‘threat’?"
Jean-Pierre told Doocy she completely disagreed with the premise of his question, calling the way he asked it "incredibly dangerous" because Americans are watching.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that she and others at the White House will continue to call former President Trump a "threat," backing up the term with events like the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (White House)
Social media commentators were quick to condemn Jean-Pierre as an unapologetic part of the problem.
"’Asking questions about how we demonize our opponents and their supporters is dangerous!’ is an utterly heinous response from KJP," The Spectator editor-at-large Ben Domenech argued.
The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller parodied this mentality by writing, "Our violence is speech. Your speech is dangerous."
Podcaster Tim Young argued that Jean-Pierre’s response to Doocy’s question was basically one where she "gaslights by saying it's dangerous for him to ask that, and his tone is dangerous..." Young went on to warn followers, "She thinks you're stupid."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 17, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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"This is disgraceful and bordering on conspiracy at this point," Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., cautioned. "The Dems can’t run on policy so they are running on demonizing @realDonaldTrump."
Omri Ceren, national security adviser to Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, shredded the press secretary: "She's just so studiously mediocre."
Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce called out the White House spokeswoman for deflecting criticism back to Doocy.
"In asking a question about the admin's use of the word ‘threat’ to describe Trump, KJP accuses Doocy of being ‘dangerous’ for asking the question!" she wrote.
Video journalist Nick Sortor suggested, "These people are clearly going to continue these violent narratives. Evil."
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