White House press secretary grilled on tweet calling 2016 election 'stolen'

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White House press secretary grilled on tweet calling 2016 election 'stolen'

Peter Doocy confronts White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy confronted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with her own past tweets denying election results Tuesday, asking her whether it was as "extreme" to do so in 2016 as it was in 2020.

Jean-Pierre claimed on Twitter that former President Donald Trump had stolen the election in 2016 and that Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had stolen his election in 2018. Doocy pressed the White House spokesperson to explain why "MAGA Republicans" were facing so much criticism for their claims that the 2020 election was stolen when she and other Democrats had cast doubt on other elections.

"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."

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington on Sept. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

"Well, here we go," Doocy responded. "You tweeted Trump stole an election. You tweeted Brian Kemp stole an election. If denying election results is extreme now, why wasn't it then?"

"Let's be really clear: That comparison you just made is ridiculous," Jean-Pierre said, adding that she was speaking specifically about voting rights at the time.

"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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Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy speaks in front of the White House. (Fox News)

President Joe Biden had described "MAGA Republicans" as a threat to Democracy in a Philadelphia speech last week. The president has attempted to push Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol into center stage ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

"MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards," Biden said. "Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love."

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"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic," he continued. "MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of the law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election."