2022 year in review: Karine Jean-Pierre and Joe Biden’s tense moments with reporters
A compilation of President Joe Biden and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s most contentious moments with members of the media.
After another year in office, President Biden continued to have more clashes with the media, though this time he was joined by new White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Throughout 2021, Biden had a history of mocking or outright lashing out against reporters who asked unfavorable questions of him. Other times, he has been known to leave events without taking questions from reporters at all, both trends that continued into 2022.
In January, Biden kicked things off by insulting not just one but two reporters in two days. After Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich asked why the White House was waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, Biden remarked bluntly, "What a stupid question."
RealClearNews reporter Philip Wegmann also faced a harsh scolding from the president after questioning his comparisons of political opponents to reviled historical figures.
U.S. President Joe Biden referred to Fox News reporter Peter Doocy as a "stupid son of a b----" during a press encounter in January. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
"No, I didn't say that. Look what I said," Biden said. "Go back and read what I said and tell me if you think I called anyone who voted on the side of the position taken by Bull Connor that they were Bull Connor? And that is an interesting reading of English. Yeah, I assume you got it in the journals because you like to write."
BIDEN’S MOST MEMORABLE CLASHES WITH REPORTERS IN 2021
Just days after the exchange, Biden produced a viral moment after referring to Fox News’ Peter Doocy as a "stupid son of a b----" following a question on inflation. While Biden later called Doocy to insist, "It’s nothing personal, pal," it ushered in another year of the president’s attacks and snubs of the press.
By June, Biden was heard criticizing reporters who questioned him on economists warning about a possible recession.
"Not the majority of them aren’t saying that. Come on, don’t make things up, OK? Now you sound like a Republican politician," Biden said. "I’m joking, that was a joke."
Over the course of the year, Biden also referred to NBC News' Kelly O'Donnell as a "pain in the neck," called a female reporter a "kid" and accused a CBS reporter of "playing games" with him over questions about Russia.
US President Joe Biden smiles during a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
When not mocking reporters, Biden was often seen walking away or avoiding questions. Notably, he was revealed to be taking questions from a pre-planned list of reporters. In November, while taking pre-planned questions, NBC's Peter Alexander asked what Americans could expect from Congress regarding "abortion rights."
"I don’t think they can expect much of anything other than we’re going to maintain our positions. I’m not going to get into more questions. I shouldn’t have even answered your question," Biden answered.
It was noted at the time that while Biden had a list of reporters to call on, Alexander was not one of them. One of Biden’s handlers then shouted away remaining questions.
The pre-planned list of reporters also appeared in June during a press conference in Madrid, Spain, as Biden repeatedly referenced it before taking questions. After answering a few questions, Biden then turned his back and walked out, declaring, "I’m out of here."
BIDEN HASTILY ENDS PRESS CONFERENCE AS REPORTERS SHOUT QUESTIONS: ‘I’M OUT OF HERE’
While Biden has gained infamy for his treatment of the press, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre quickly gained a reputation of her own in 2022. Though Jean-Pierre only began her position in May, she has proven several times to be unprepared during press conferences and even combative against reporters.
In a particularly memorable press conference in November, Jean-Pierre shouted down reporters attempting to ask Dr. Anthony Fauci questions regarding the origins of the coronavirus.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters to not shout questions during a briefing with White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha during a briefing on COVID-19 at the White House on Nov. 22, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
"We have a process here. I'm not calling out on people who yell. And you're being, you're being, you're being disrespectful to your colleagues, and you're being disrespectful to our guest," Jean-Pierre said. "I will not call on you if you yell, and also you're taking time off the clock because Dr. Fauci has to leave in a couple of minutes."
Prior to this exchange, Jean-Pierre was also criticized by White House reporters for not taking questions from members of the press often seated in the back. One instance in August had a reporter insisting that she had been attempting to ask a question for "more than a week" only for Jean-Pierre to respond "respect your colleagues." This followed White House reporters previously complaining anonymously that she was being too "by-the-book."
Outside the mainstream media, social media users have attacked the press secretary for spreading "disinformation" while behind the podium. One of the more frequent claims she pushed was insisting that voter suppression took place in Georgia following its election integrity law being passed, even after the state saw record voter turnout.
"And speaking generally, of course, more broadly, of course, high turnout and voter suppression can take place at the same time," Jean-Pierre said. "They don't have to be, one doesn't have to happen on its own. They could be happening at the same time."
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE SAYS ‘VOTER SUPPRESSION’ AND ‘HIGH TURNOUT’ CAN TAKE PLACE ‘AT THE SAME TIME’
She made that statement in October when Georgia boasted record early voting and reiterated the claim in December after record turnouts were reported in both the general and runoff elections.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre talks to reporters during the daily news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on September 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In a more controversial exchange, Doocy questioned Jean-Pierre directly on her past tweets claiming that former President Donald Trump and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had stolen their respective elections in 2016 and 2018.
"You tweeted in 2016 that Trump stole an election," Doocy began.
"Oh, I knew this was coming," Jean-Pierre said, cutting him off. "I was waiting, Peter, for when you were going to ask me that question."
She later insisted, "Let's be really clear: That comparison you just made is ridiculous…Governor Kemp won the election in Georgia. I have been clear about that," she continued. "I have said President Trump won the election in 2016, and I have been clear about that. What we are talking about right now is, let's not forget, what happened on Jan. 6th, 2021. We saw an insurrection, a mob, that was incited by the person who occupied [the White House]. … It was an attack on our democracy."
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The question came after President Biden described "MAGA Republicans" as a threat to democracy due to their refusal to accept election results. Jean-Pierre continued to attack "MAGA Republicans" and their threats to democracy herself after Doocy's question with no further reference to her past comments.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.
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