Staff Reports
The White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, has been blaming mainstream media for not framing their narrative towards President Joe Biden’s favor during the debt ceiling battle. However, in her latest briefing, Jean-Pierre claimed that the crisis is a manufactured one but conveniently forgot to mention that President Biden created and manufactured this crisis, bringing the United States to the brink of default. For over two months, Biden refused to speak with Speaker Kevin McCarthy to negotiate the legislation to raise the debt ceiling, choosing to wait until the last minute to address the issue.
Jean-Pierre’s statement that the only solution is for the Congress to prevent default is worthless since it was Democrats that set the spending levels for FY2022, and those same democrats are now portraying the same spending plan as catastrophic. Moreover, on the issue of debt talks being “productive,” Jean-Pierre had nothing to offer to back up the White House’s position, portraying herself as less convincing by the day.
KJP: "This is a manufactured crisis, plain and simple…" pic.twitter.com/uYVjUNm2Iq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
KJP: "A default would have catastrophic impacts in every single part of this country…millions of jobs lost, devastated retirement accounts, and a recession…" pic.twitter.com/mhNreZDFR7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
KJP: "The big and important thing is that, uh, they are, we are talking. That's part of negotiation, is talking. And the talk, and the talks continue!" pic.twitter.com/d1ksfTgUHq
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
KJP gets called out by a reporter for attacking House Republicans while simultaneously pleading with them to move on a deal:
"I just laid out the facts. That's all…I think it's always important to do that." pic.twitter.com/ittqcJ9vso
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
REPORTER: "Will the president commit to staying in D.C. until they reach an agreement?"
KJP: "The president will be wherever he needs to be to secure reasonable bipartisan deal…He'll do that wherever he needs to be." pic.twitter.com/N8bm0trjaa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
KJP gets PISSED when a reporter asks why Joe Biden is traveling this weekend if the debt ceiling situation is so dire.
Another "reporter" jumps in to defend Biden: "He came back from Japan!" pic.twitter.com/bvMiOoumCu
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 24, 2023
The Democrats voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act, which was drafted to raise the debt ceiling, cap discretionary spending at FY2022 levels, and avoid default, which means that they voted for a default on the nation’s debt. Yet, the White House press secretary continues to attack Republicans rather than negotiate in good faith and find common ground to reach a deal on raising the debt ceiling.
Jean-Pierre’s lackluster explanations and continued attacks against Republicans are not helping the debt talks in any way. The question that arises is, how does the White House expect to negotiate with Republican lawmakers by attacking them across the aisle, giving kids asthma, and exposing Americans to chemicals that literally melt bones? While Jean-Pierre peddles partisan talking points, contradictory to even her own previous statements, the White House seems to have forgotten the facts.
Overall, the White House has portrayed Biden as unconcerned with the debt ceiling, wasting months of valuable negotiating time, not willing to stay at the table over the weekend, and rushing back from his international trip to Washington when the crisis is already upon us. It is high time for the White House to take responsibility and negotiate in good faith to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt.
