CBS News reporter confronts Kirby with the perfect question after US allows UN resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire to pass



CBS News correspondent Ed O'Keefe ruffled John Kirby's feathers on Monday.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on Monday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. abstained from voting on the resolution, thereby allowing it to be adopted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was understandably upset and canceled an Israeli delegation's scheduled trip to Washington, D.C.

At the White House press briefing, Kirby justified allowing the resolution to pass by claiming it links a ceasefire to the release of hostages.

But O'Keefe wasn't buying the justification and confronted Kirby over whether the U.S. is taking this new position because President Joe Biden is facing chaotic political headwinds for backing Israel.

"There are U.S. officials today saying Netanyahu is acting this way because he's facing some domestic political pressure. Aren’t there also domestic political pressures facing President Biden, and that’s part of the reason why you all are allowing this to happen today? O'Keefe began. "You’ve got members of the Democratic Party saying he’s doing this wrong. You’ve got the general public suggesting his support for Israel is misplaced.

"Is that part of why this is going through today?" O'Keefe asked.

The question clearly got under Kirby's skin.

"No, absolutely not," Kirby claimed, "and I've got to take issue with the premise of the question.

"The president makes decisions based on the national security interests of the United States, and this decision to abstain on this resolution is in keeping with the national security interests of the United States," he alleged. "And, quite frankly, it's in keeping with the national security concerns of the Israeli people."

Kirby, however, did not explain how the resolution benefits Israel.

Great questions from CBS’s @EdOKeefe.

O’Keefe: “There are U.S. officials today saying Netanyahu's acting this way because he's facing some domestic political pressure — there's domestic political issues going on. Aren't there also domestic political pressures facing President… pic.twitter.com/YCrercbsQG
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) March 25, 2024

This is the second time in two weeks that the Biden administration has been forced to address concerns that Biden is waffling on Israel because Democrats are upset that he supports Israel.

Last week, NBC News reported that Biden was outraged when he was told in January that his poll numbers are dipping because of his pro-Israel policies. The White House refused to provide substantive answers to questions about the report, instead calling such inquiries, "the 'When did you stop beating your spouse' question."

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Reporter corners KJP with Biden's own words about defying congressional subpoenas after Hunter Biden does exactly that



White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to reconcile Hunter Biden defying a congressional subpoena with President Joe Biden's words that such individuals must be prosecuted.

The elephant in the briefing room on Wednesday was Hunter Biden's Capitol Hill speech and his refusal to comply with a subpoena requiring that he testify before House investigators probing allegations of Biden family corruption.

The first two times reporters asked about the first son's defiance, Jean-Pierre refused to address the issue. "I’m just not going to speak to that," she said. But when a reporter asked if Biden watched his son's speech, Jean-Pierre said the president "was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say," suggesting the two had conversed about it beforehand. But she later declined to provide additional details as to what exactly she meant by "familiar."

Finally, a reporter confronted Jean-Pierre with Biden's own words about congressional subpoenas.

"You were asked what the president — what his stance was on people who defy congressional subpoenas. In 2021, he was asked that question specifically and said that he believed the Justice Department should prosecute them," the reporter noted.

"Is that still his position?" the reporter asked.

But Jean-Pierre took the coward's way out.

"I don't have anything to add to what you just quoted me from the president. I just don't have anything to add," she responded

.@DailyMail's @RobCrilly: "You were asked what the President -- what his stance was on people who defy congressional subponeas. In 2021, he was that...and he said he believes the Justice Dept should prosecute them. Is that still his position?"

KJP: "I don't have anything to add" pic.twitter.com/n6MZbocrxm
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 13, 2023


In October 2021, Biden was asked about individuals who had defied the Jan. 6 committee and ignored subpoenas requiring their testimony.

"I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally," Biden responded.

When asked if he thinks that accountability should come in the form of Justice Department prosecution, Biden confirmed, "I do, yes."

And that's exactly what happened. At the time of Biden's comments, Steve Bannon had ignored a congressional subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. The Justice Department then secured an indictment against Bannon for contempt charges, and he was later found guilty and sentenced to prison.

— (@)

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Fox News reporter brings out the big guns to expose WH's double standard after Florida Democrats cancel presidential primary



Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich cornered the White House on Monday over its own double standard on accusations of voter suppression.

At the daily press briefing, Heinrich reminded White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre of previous statements the Biden administration has made about the issue. For example, President Joe Biden accused Georgia of passing new "Jim Crow" laws when it passed a law in 2021 strengthening election security, and Jean-Pierre herself claimed voter suppression occurred in Georgia last December when, in reality, there was record turnout.

"Does the White House still believe that that was true?" Heinrich asked.

"I don’t have anything else to add from what I stated last time," Jean-Pierre answered.

That's when Heinrich pulled out the big guns, invoking the Florida Democratic Party's decision to scrap its presidential primary despite the fact that there are Florida Democrats interested in casting a primary vote for a Democratic presidential candidate other than Biden.

"Does the Florida party, then, effectively canceling the Democratic primary also constitute voter suppression?" Heinrich asked.

"I can’t speak to that," the press secretary responded.

"Why not?" Heinrich pressed.

But each time Jean-Pierre refused to address the question and declined to explain why she did not want to answer it.

.@JacquiHeinrich: So, does the Florida Party, then effectively canceling the Democratic primary also constitute voter suppression?

KJP: I can't speak to that.

Heinrich: Why not?

KJP: You have to speak to the campaign or the DNC.

Heinrich: Does — does the White House have… pic.twitter.com/r2GTrr5YNV
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 4, 2023

The Florida Democratic presidential primary is essentially canceled after the party only submitted Biden's name for its 2024 primary ballot.

There are, however, several other Democrats campaigning against the president, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Marianne Williamson, and Cenk Uygur. They are long-shot candidates at best, but they're running to give voters an alternative option. By denying them a spot on the primary ballot, the Florida Democratic Party is essentially denying Democratic voters the opportunity to use the ballot box to support other Democrats.

The Florida Democratic Party, for its part, is standing by the decision. Party officials claim they handled the balloting process by the book and allowing candidates other than Biden to be added to the ballot now would be "anti-democratic."

12/04/23: Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Jake Sullivanwww.youtube.com

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Peter Doocy hits KJP with blunt question about Biden's Maui wildfire response that visibly shocks his colleagues



Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a direct question on Wednesday about President Joe Biden's response to Hurricane Idalia.

By all appearances, the president has been intimately involved in the disaster response. He even eschewed politics and told reporters that he trusts DeSantis. Doocy's question, then, sought to understand why Biden's response to this natural disaster has been "robust" compared to his "no comment" response to the Maui wildfires.

"Did you guys realize that the initial Hawaii wildfire response was not that good, or is it just easier for people to get help from the White House when the president is not on vacation?" Doocy asked, referring to Biden's vacations to Rehoboth Beach and Lake Tahoe this month.

The query visibly shocked reporters sitting near Doocy, including NBC News' Peter Alexander and the Wall Street Journal's Annie Linskey.

Doocy: "It seems like the hurricane response so far is robust. Did you guys realize that the initial Hawaiian wildfire was not that good or is it just easier for people to get help from the WH when [Biden] is not on vacation."

In the next seat, NBC's Peter Alexander was unamused pic.twitter.com/FzTKY1JESx
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 30, 2023


Jean-Pierre, of course, also was not pleased.

"So, the premise of your question and the way you posed your question, I disagree, just for the record," she said.

According to the press secretary, Doocy should speak with Hawaii officials, who will allegedly inform him that Biden "reacted in record time" to the Maui wildfires. The officials she cited, the state's governor and U.S. senators, are Democrats.

"If you were to do your reporting and speak to the governor of Hawaii, the senators of Hawaii, the folks on the ground, they would say that the president reacted in record time when it came to dealing with the wildfires, when it came to dealing and making sure that they got everything that they need on the federal level to deal with what was going on on the ground," she said.

"So, your question is wrong — it's flawed in many, many ways," she declared.

Interestingly, Jean-Pierre did not instruct Doocy to speak with Maui residents, many of whom were critical of Biden over what they believed was a lackluster response.

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DOOCY Bombs Psaki: How About Joe Biden Apologize to Kyle Rittenhouse for Calling Him a 'White Supremacist?'



A jury of Kyle Rittenhouse's peers viewed all the evidence that he clearly acted in self-defense and ruled as such. Now, Kyle gets to decide who is getting the first defamation suit filed against them. Easy money says Joe Biden, who Kyle believed acted in 'actual malice' by calling him a 'white supremacist.' Every word out of the White House on the subject needs to be carefully chosen on the matter. One can assume DOOCY knew what the answer was going to be, but he asked the question anyway.

DOOCY asked the Rittenhouse question before, and Psaki dodged. Let's find out what happens this time, now that Kyle has been found not guilty by a jury of his peers. Please enjoy this video of their exchange followed by my dramatic interpretation.

Doocy: "Would the President ever apologize to...Kyle Rittenhouse for suggesting online and on TV that he is a white supremacist?

Psaki: Well, let's be clear what we're talking about here. This is about a campaign video...that use President Trump's own words during a debate...." pic.twitter.com/L8luq6eXHh
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 23, 2021

DOOCY: Kyle Rittenhouse was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. It turns out everything that Joe Biden, Joe Biden's political party, and all of Joe Biden's supporters sitting in this briefing room said about Kyle Rittenhouse was misinformation. Will Joe Biden ever apologize to the seventeen-year-old for defaming him and calling him a 'white supremacist?'

PSAKI: In the president's defense ... Donald Trump.

DOOCY: What about Kyle being found not guilty by a jury of his peers makes Biden angry?

PSAKI: As I said, DONALD (clap emoji) TRUMP (clap emoji).

DOOCY: That doesn't answer my--

PSAKI: Trumpity Trumpy Trump Trump Trump.

DOOCY: We're really doing this?

PSAKI: TRUUUUUUUUUUUMP.

Obviously, we won't get an answer until DOOCY gets to ask Joe Biden himself. Hey look! There the president is now!

As Biden Shuffles Away, Reporter Asks “When Will You Answer Our Questions, Sir"youtu.be

I guess Kyle will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get his apology. I'm sure the Rittenhouse family is more thankful he's home with them for the holiday. Suing the pants off of everyone can wait until next week.

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What if Kyle Rittenhouse Was BLACK? | Louder With Crowderyoutu.be

Psaki says Biden admin 'welcomes stiff competition' over news that China tested nuclear-capable hypersonic missiles



White House press secretary Jen Psaki oddly said the Biden administration "welcomes stiff competition" when asked Monday about China testing hypersonic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

What is the background?

The Financial Times reported Saturday that U.S. intelligence officials were completely in the dark on the test, which took place in August.

China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise. Five people familiar with the test said the Chinese military launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle which flew through low-orbit space before cruising down towards its target.

The missile missed its target by about two-dozen miles, according to three people briefed on the intelligence. But two said the test showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised.

"We have no idea how they did this," one official told Financial Times.

What did Psaki say?

When Psaki was asked about China's hypersonic missiles, she revealed the position of the Biden administration is: "We welcome stiff competition."

"We've made clear our concerns about the military capabilities that the PRC continues to pursue," Psaki explained. "And we have been consistent in our approach with China: We welcome stiff competition, but we do not want that competition to veer into conflict."

"And that is certainly what we convey privately as well," she added.

Asked by @AP's @AJJaffe on China's space nukes, Jen Psaki says she won't be "comment[ing] on the specific report,"… https://t.co/C7dGmx8P0K

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) 1634577969.0

Republican lawmakers were quick to rebuke Psaki's remark.

"You welcome the competition? You don't say that. You tell China, 'Stand down or you will regret this,'" Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) reacted on Fox News.

"And did [Biden] say 'Stand down'? No. He says, 'We welcome competition.' No, we do not welcome the Chinese Communist Party with a hypersonic missile that can hit the American homeland and neutralize all of our defenses," Graham added. "I don't welcome that."

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) reacted to Psaki's remarks by saying, "Let me be clear: testing weapons such as these is a direct threat to us and our allies."

Anything else?

Psaki's perplexing comment underscores what former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a "60 Minutes" interview that aired over the weekend.

Gates explained that former President Donald Trump correctly assessed the threat China poses to America, saying Trump "basically awakened Americans."

"I think this is a place where President Trump got it right. He basically awakened Americans — and I would say especially the business community — to a China that the assumptions about which we had gotten wrong," Gates admitted.

"The assumption for 40 years was that a richer China would be a freer China — and that's clearly not going to happen," Gates explained.

On the other hand, Gates reaffirmed a comment he made about President Joe Biden in 2014 in which he said Biden has been "wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades."

Psaki confronted over 'really terrible' polls for Biden, so she blames unvaccinated Americans: 'No question'



The White House is blaming President Joe Biden's dismal approval ratings on Americans not vaccinated against COVID-19.

What is the background?

New polls released last week showed that Biden's approval ratings continue to tank. A Quinnipiac University poll, for example, found Biden's approval rating to be just 38%. Biden's average numbers, according to RealClearPolitics, currently stand at 52% disapproval and just 43.3% approval.

Biden's spiraling approval has been compounded by self-inflicted mistakes — including the ongoing border crisis, numerous unsuccessful legislative battles on Capitol Hill, and the botched Afghanistan withdrawal — while economic woes related to the pandemic have not improved under Biden's leadership.

In fact, the September jobs report, released on Friday, showed just 194,000 jobs were added in September, far fewer than the 500,000 that economists expected. The report was so bad that CNBC hosts were unable to hide their shock over the dismal report.

What did the WH say?

During a press briefing at the White House on Friday, press secretary Jen Psaki was confronted over Biden's "really terrible" approval ratings.

Agence France-Presse reporter Sebastian Smith asked, "What do you make of these really terrible polls? Are they that he's doing something wrong? Is it just the communication? Or is it he's doing unpopular things that have to be done?"

In response, Psaki partially blamed unvaccinated Americans for the president's woes.

"Well, look, I would say that this is a really tough time in our country. We're still battling COVID, and a lot of people thought we'd be through it, including us," Psaki began.

"And we — because of the rise of the delta variant, because of the fact that even though it was a vaccine that was approved under a Republican administration, even though we now have full FDA approval, and even though it's widely available across the country, we still have a quarter of the country who have, less than that, 20% of the country who've decided not to get vaccinated," Psaki continued.

"No question that's having an impact," she declared.

AFP's Sebastian Smith: Biden's "very tough approval rating these days...You might say that they don't mean anything… https://t.co/on4FLkFvnV

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) 1633721511.0

Psaki later added the White House is focused on "getting the pandemic under control" and returning to "a version of normal" life.

Joy Reid admits she was vaccine 'hesitant' under Trump because former president was 'controlling,' 'manipulating' CDC and FDA



It's a good week to be Joy Reid.

Sitting upon her posh MSNBC pedestal, the host of "The Reid Out" took COVID-19 potshots at rapper Nicki Minaj one day and the entire Republican Party on another — and as a result Reid's name has been all over social media.

It's commentary and part of what she does and completely fair game — but when unsubstantiated stuff is baked into her rapid-fire delivery, it needs to be noted at the very least.

Such as Reid's wild rant saying Republicans "love COVID so much" they "want it to spread into schools, at the office, in the Walmart, on the cruise ships, and at the club" — and even "want it pumping through [their] veins with an ivermectin chaser."

Or Reid's unprovable accusation that Minaj, by expressing her vaccine hesitancy on Twitter, "put people in the position of dying" of the virus.

The hits just keep on coming

But viral social media hits are at stake here, folks — and Reid smelled the blood in the water and kept going for the jugular on Thursday.

Speaking to author and professor Michael Eric Dyson about Minaj's vaccine hesitancy — and general hesitancy in the black community — Reid revisited her own reluctance to get a COVID-19 vaccine not long ago.

"I was hesitant," Reid told Dyson. "When [former President] Donald Trump was out there controlling the CDC and controlling the FDA and manipulating them and making them put out falsehoods, anybody rational was hesitant."

But now with President Joe Biden in office, Reid is just fine with the vaccines and added to Dyson that "the reality is now, what I really fear is ... more masses of people dying ... and disproportionally they look like you and me, Michael. And what scares me is that people are creating a cultural imperative to set themselves up for death when the people pushing them to do it like Tuckums [i.e. Fox News' Tucker Carlson] are vaccinated and safe — and even if they got COVID are gonna get all the monoclonal antibodies. They could give a damn if Nicki Minaj gets COVID and dies. They don't give a damn about us."

Joy Reid again defends her belief that it was NECESSARY to be anti-vaxxer when Trump was in office: "I was hesitant… https://t.co/gEgRj89g9e

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) 1631837189.0

How did folks react to Reid's claims?

Quite a few observers were only too happy to point out Reid's partisan-fueled vaccine hesitancy when Trump was in office. Here's the start of a Twitter thread containing a jaw-dropping number of examples of Reid's crusade under Trump:

She’s trending so brief🧵thread🧵chronically the times that @JoyAnnReid used her platform to push unfounded vaccine… https://t.co/0nOHIgoAjP

— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) 1631816719.0

And while the following tweet is noted in the above thread, it deserves a spotlight, since Reid actually declared vaccine hesitancy even if Biden were elected:

Image source: Twitter

Others had the following to say:

  • "It's the same vaccine," one Twitter user observed.
  • "OMG. That was rich. She acts as though we're talking about a different vaccine, a different CDC and a different FDA than we were a year ago," another user said. "Nothing has changed except now Joe Biden is in the White House. What a flake."
  • "Joy was against vaccine when Trump was in office but now OKs mandating the exact same vaccine because... science?" another commenter asked. "Joy is a racist. Joy could care less about people dying or the efficacy of the vaccine. She pushes whatever narrative she is told and lives untouched in her bubble."
  • "More proof that if Trump told everyone to wear masks in March 2020, the entire left would be anti-maskers," another commenter noted.

Joy Behar implies unvaccinated COVID patients don't deserve medical help since they've 'chosen to listen to the lies' on Fox News



Far-left co-host of "The View" Joy Behar on Wednesday's show implied that unvaccinated COVID-19 patients don't deserve medical help because they've "chosen to defy the science" and have "chosen to listen to the lies on Fox [News]" — all while patients with other needs can't get hospital beds.

What are the details?

Former Utah Congresswoman Mia Love — a Republican — sat at "The View" table in former co-host Meghan McCain's seat and argued that it's a "slippery slope" for doctors to say they won't treat unvaccinated patients as that decision could lead to them saying they won't treat people for other illnesses.

Behar then stepped in, at first agreeing with Love that doctors denying health care to smokers and the morbidly obese could be problematic — but then she declared that such patients have developed "long-term" habits compared to the one-time decision by unvaccinated people to not get a COVID-19 shot "based on false information."

She added — as if she were speaking to unvaccinated COVID-19 patients — they should "go to [Fox News host] Tucker Carlson and make your case. Because he's telling you lies. He and other people on Fox and on some parts of Facebook are telling you lies about the vaccine."

Behar also said, "I have people in my family who say, 'I wanna get pregnant, and the vaccine could hurt my fertility.' No! There is no evidence of this. They are hearing things all over the place that are false. So now you have cancer, or you have to get a stent or what have you, and you are not able to get a bed because someone has chosen to defy the science. Someone has chosen to listen to the lies on Fox and on other places."

Here's the clip:

After @MiaBLove correctly says "it's a slippery slope" for doctors to say they won't treat the unvaccinated to allo… https://t.co/0LXjhRvUn7

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) 1631114708.0

Anything else?

Behar was on a roll, as on Tuesday's program she made reference to the United States needing to "worry about the Taliban in America" while ripping Texas' new law banning abortion at six weeks of pregnancy.

Also on Tuesday she praised President Joe Biden's disastrous Afghanistan pullout: "I believe that in six months, people will say about this war that Biden got us out of the longest war that Americans ever had. No other president can say that. I think the man deserves a lot of credit for that and Americans will back him up in six months to a year."

Liberal commentator demands Biden 'deputize' doctors to perform abortions in Texas: 'Time to play hardball'



Liberal commentator Elie Mystal, whose expertise is legal issues, demanded Thursday that President Joe Biden "deputize" doctors to create a federal force of physicians who can perform abortions in defiance of a pro-life Texas law.

Abortion advocates have been expressing outrage this week after the Supreme Court declined to block a Texas law that outlaws abortions after roughly six weeks into pregnancy.

What are the details?

Mystal advocated on MSNBC's "The ReidOut" that Biden should use the power of the pen to unilaterally establish a federal force of doctors to skirt the Texas law and continue to perform abortions.

"We need to go and get women in Texas and protect their constitutionally protected medical rights. And the way you do that is that you deputize doctors," Mystal said. "You federalize doctors through an executive order an army of federal doctors who are going to go into Texas and protect the Constitution by consulting women about their privacy rights and medical history."

By establishing "an army of federal doctors," Mystal claimed doctors would then be protected by qualified immunity.

"[F]ederalizing the doctor force, that would protect those abortion providers from the Texas law, which, as we all said, it's a bounty system. Only private citizens can enforce it. Well, you know what federal officials are protected from private civil actions by qualified immunity? Which I don't like, but, you know what? It is time to play hardball, right? It is not go high time. This is go time," Mystal said.

Mystal, a Harvard Law School graduate, went on to say:

So you send in the doctors. They're protected with qualified immunity. And the way you get around the Hyde Amendment, which is this ridiculous rule that the government can't spend money on abortions because, apparently, poor people don't get the same health care and everything else, fine. But what you get around the Hyde Amendment is that you made abortions free, which, by the way, they probably should be already, and you privately fund the doctors who are doing this service in defense of the Constitution. Biden could do that law tonight and you could have the doctors on their way to Texas tomorrow. That's what he would do if he needed to go get some people off roofs from a flooding situation.

From last night's Joy Reid -- 'Mad Scientist Fat Albert' (as @VaradMehta like to call him) says Biden should deputi… https://t.co/6R1af2XxLn

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) 1630705976.0

Show host Joy Reid responded to Mystal's proposal by calling it a "great idea."