'A narrative you love': White House slams Doocy’s 'cover up' claim
Three days after President Joe Biden heeded the call of his Party’s leaders and ended his re-election campaign, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted Fox News’s Peter Doocy for alleging a long-term “cover-up” of the President’s health had taken place.
President Biden, who returned to the White House Tuesday after a week-long slog with COVID, will address the nation Wednesday night in a rare Oval Office primetime speech, to explain his historic and nearly unprecedented decision to exit the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.
“It would seem that the White House knew that President was slipping. And it was hidden from the American people. So who ordered White House officials to cover up a declining president?” asked Doocy, who has been a thorn in the administration’s side for much of Biden’s term.
“I know that that is a narrative that you love,” Jean-Pierre reminded him.
“He did a press conference at NATO, ‘I’m in it,’ ” Doocy charged. ‘There’s all these things to finish,’ and then ten days later, ‘I’m dropping out.’ ”
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“First of all, there’s been no cover up,” Jean-Pierre declared. “I want to be very clear about that. I know that is the narrative that you all want. It is not.”
“I’m going to say this again, and, you’re going to hear it directly from the President – I hope you listen tonight. I think it’s going to be incredibly powerful and important, the Oval Office, as you know, when they make speeches from the Oval Office it’s because they want to directly make sure that the American people hear it from them. Obviously going to be done in primetime. I would listen to the President.”
“And then what I will say is that it is not easy,” she continued, “making a decision that the President made on Sunday, it is just not. It is not . And as all you have you reported, it is historic. It is unusual. This is not the norm, and making a decision like that for someone who has been in public service for 54 years. U.S. Senator for 36, Vice President to President Obama for eight, and now a first term as president himself. These are not easy decisions to make. They’re just not. And so the fact that he was able to make that decision in a selfless way. That’s admirable.”
Jean-Pierre’s assertion the mainstream media wants to promote a “cover-up” narrative is substantiated by MSNBC’s Elise Jordan, who in video that aired Wednesday asked a focus group, “Who do you blame for President Biden’s being in office in this condition?” and then, “Who deserves the blame?”
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Professor and media critic Jeff Jarvis responded, “Hang that in the museum of dead journalism, in the collection of leading questions.”
Jarvis added Jordan then – referring to Vice President Kamala Harris – said: “If she’s willing to hide that kind of information…. Is is it a power grab or…?”
Watch the video of Doocy and Jean-Pierre below or at this link.
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