During a press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked why President Joe Biden has failed to really resonate with the American people.
The question was put to her by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who pointed to recent polling which shows he is losing to Trump in five of six swing states.
“Why do you think Americans are so down on President Biden right now?” Doocy began.
In response, Jean-Pierre asked, “What do you mean?”
Shedding light on his question, Doocy said, “I know you don’t like to talk about polls, like, the five of six swing states that he is losing right now to somebody who is a criminal offender. But, more broadly, it doesn’t seem like anything you guys are doing is making him more popular. Why do you think that is?”
Jean-Pierre replied, saying, “So, you — uh — you mentioned a criminal defendant, your words, not mine. So I want to be super mindful about how I answer this question, because obviously, that criminal defendant is also a — in the race for 2024 elections, so going to be super mindful there.”
The White House official then went on to list out several reasons why Americans might feel like things are not getting better under Biden, including the Russian-Ukraine war and the COVID-19 pandemic.
DOOCY TIME: “Why do you think Americans are so down on President Biden right now?”
KJP: “What do you mean?”
Doocy: “I know you don't like to talk about polls, like, the five of six swing states that he is losing right now to somebody who is a criminal offender. But, more… pic.twitter.com/HznjkEE05h
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 14, 2024
Claiming that the economy under Biden is getting better even if Americans are not seeing it, she said, “We understand that people are still feeling this. We get that and we’re not — we’re not blind to that.”
Doocy, however, argued that Biden’s economic policies have not delivered on his promises, as he asked, “I get that you understand that people are hurting right now. Why is it that nothing you’re doing to address their concerns is working?”
Jean-Pierre responded, “What I’m saying is, we’re going to continue to do the work. I can’t speak to the polls, right? Those are for folks who are experts who can do a deep dive and look into that and speak to them. What I can speak to is we understand what the American people is [sic] feeling. We understand what they’re going through. That’s why we’re going to continue to do the work.”
