There will always be complaints from certain members of the White House Press Corps regarding individuals responsible with speaking on behalf of the White House, most prominently the press secretary, regardless of the president or the party to which they belong.
The complaints typically center on, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: claimed injustice over allegations that particular outlets were contacted too frequently, seldom, or not at all.
But concerns about the current White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre are mounting, and they’re becoming so bad that CNN’s Oliver Darcy, of all people, is claiming that tensions have boiled over between Jean-Pierre and a number of reporters in the briefing room.
More than a dozen White House reporters with whom Darcy spoke on Wednesday described a picture of a press corps that has become frustrated with Jean-Pierre and does not think she is adequately qualified to answer their queries.
I spoke to more than half-a-dozen White House reporters about frustrations with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, which are reaching a boiling point. Details in @ReliableSources: https://t.co/QglKXWpuBv
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 19, 2023
The journalists, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely, cited Jean Pierre’s fixation on adhering to talking points as well as an incident last week in which a crucial claim she made from the platform ultimately turned out to be untrue.
There have long been issues with Jean Pierre within the journalists. She has publicly said that it is difficult for her to reply to straightforward questioning in the briefing room, at times agonizingly turning to her binder of talking points.
But as President Joe Biden gets questioned about his prior handling of confidential papers, the friction has risen.
As journalists continue to probe the Biden classified files affair, the tension has been obvious recently. For instance, at the Tuesday briefing, a number of reporters got into a heated argument with Jean-Pierre over her failure to maintain the story’s integrity and for providing responses that were blatantly false.
This article doesn’t get written by this activist reporter, if some very powerful democrats don’t want it to. Someone wants her out, but is too cowardly to do so without first setting the table for it. https://t.co/FfuZMfmY8J
— a newsman (@a_newsman) January 19, 2023
As the classified documents issue intensifies, it won’t be a shock if, in a few weeks, we learn that Jean Pierre has chosen to resign in order to “spend more time with family.”
Biden’s new spokeswoman appears to be as useless as Karine Jean-Pierre.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 19, 2023
LISTEN: She can’t even answer basic questions about transparency and cooperation with the House Oversight Committee. pic.twitter.com/0n10ohpYfX
