Staff Reports
As Dr. Anthony Fauci prepares to retire from his position as the highest-paid government employee in the US, he took time out from his schedule to answer questions from the press in the White House briefing room. Although he was still acting as the event's mistress, French journalist and former Miss France, Karine Jean-Pierre, moderated the discussion.
Today's correspondent, Simon Ateba, asked Fauci a question that was very dubious. After getting a response that was very different from what he was expecting, KJP, the host of the briefing, started to read Ateba's riot act.
Simon Ateba, the Today News Africa correspondent, was scolded by White House press secretary, Jean-Pierre, for speaking out of turn.
Fauci, who is the White House's chief medical advisor, participated in the briefing, which was his last before he retires. During the discussion, Ateba asked a follow-up question to Diana Glebova of The Daily Caller.
Since Ateba's outbursts with the Biden administration have been frequent, Jean-Pierre has been vocal about her disapproval of his behavior. She told him that he should stop disrupting the discussion and that he should respect the process of the briefing. In response to his behavior, Jean-Pierre said that she was not calling out individuals who yell, but those who are disrespectful to the guests.
The topic of the discussion, which was relatively sensitive for the White House, was the question that Ateba asked about Fauci's initial statements about the virus. He was trying to get an answer to a question about whether or not the virus was created by the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
It was widely reported that the White House had selected Fauci to answer the question. However, was KJP under some orders to not air the question?
Even if it wasn't the case, Jean-Pierre's demeanor didn't exactly go over well with the members of the press corps. As a result, she has had a hard time adjusting to her new position in the White House. One thing that's worth noting is that Simon Ateba is African-American. According to some, shouting down and trying to silence a Black person is considered racist.
This was not the first time that KJP had disrespected Ateba. She shut him down earlier this year after he asked about the suggestion that Biden should resign from his position.
It's also funny how many of the outbursts that KJP has experienced involve Ateba. It's possible that the reason why he often focuses on topics that the Biden administration doesn't want to talk about is because he's a journalist, or he's just trying to make a point. The briefing room is supposed to be a place where journalists can gather and talk about the issues that they cover, and this is typically the sort of thing that they're supposed to do.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on HOTAIR.
