Thursday’s White Home press briefing featured longtime Democratic nationwide safety flack John Kirby for what’ll doubtless be certainly one of his ultimate occasions on the podium and he had fairly the duty to insist the Biden administration rejects {that a} hostile international actor or UFOs are behind the drones harassing residents in New Jersey, New York, and now surrounding states, however they nonetheless haven’t any clue who’s behind them. Fortunately, Fox’s Jacqui Heinrich wasn’t amused by his dodges.
Like her colleague Peter Doocy, Heinrich stored it fundamental to begin out:
JACQUI TIME: “On the drones, does the U.S. authorities have any of its personal imagery or video of those programs?”
WH’s John Kirby: “I am not conscious that we’ve got U.S. authorities — uh — produced — uh — imagery ourselves, however as I stated in my opening assertion, we’ve got actually achieved… pic.twitter.com/IF35XATl7B
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 12, 2024
Within the above video, her first follow-up reduce to the chase of the madness: “Principally, with what you’re , how are you going to credibly inform folks that there isn’t any public security menace, there’s no nationwide safety menace that there’s no purpose to consider {that a} international authorities is concerned?”
Kirby maintained “[t]right here’s much more work to be achieved and we’re working intently with state and native authorities to achieve extra info,” however nothing has indicated “any nationwide safety or malicious intent or legal exercise.”
Heinrich wasn’t amused, telling Kirby that Democrats representing the affected areas have instructed members of their very own celebration that, in Heinrich’s phrases, this hasn’t “been dealt with with a way of urgency” and puzzled if there’s been any warnings to related navy websites.
When Kirby additionally ducked this and stated there hadn’t been, Heinrich fact-checked him: “
They stated in truth that they’ve been noticed maneuvering their crucial infrastructure, delicate places together with reservoirs and navy installations and cited concern from regulation enforcement about public security threats as a result of a Medevac helicopter was prevented from transporting a severely injured affected person for care due to the presence of those drones….Are you able to make that make extra sense? As a result of I feel individuals in New York and New Jersey see drones the dimensions of an SUV over their home each evening and suppose that that doesn’t make any sense.
Finally, Kirby’s dithering gave technique to a follow-up from NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell:
NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell: “Selecting up on — on drones, has it reached a stage or is there a stage decided by which the President or the administration extra straight would prohibit any use of the airspace since it’s regulated for drones for a time frame to strive to determine… pic.twitter.com/WuVaMWRTDn
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 12, 2024
The briefing had lame questions from the left, equivalent to this from Bloomberg’s Akayla Gardner about President-Elect Trump appointing Kari Lake to run the Voice of America:
Bloomberg reporter Akayla Gardner: “I assume react typically to the truth that, you realize, it is a nonpartisan company and Kari Lake is somebody who simply ran the Senate marketing campaign. Simply any response to the truth that —”
WH’s John Kirby: “I’m simply not gonna get into casting judgments… pic.twitter.com/yb5A4Q1sVL
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 12, 2024
At all times a great wager to press from the left, Reuters’s Andrea Shalal expressed concern concerning the lack of a report on what had been dubbed a “nationwide technique” to battle Islamophobia (click on “broaden”):
SHALAL: You might have been engaged on an Islamophobia — or an — a technique to counter Islamophobia that will companion with the technique that you just’ve already launched to countering antisemitism. We’ve been ready for it for a very long time. Do you will have any additional updates on when that may very well be launched? Do you anticipate it coming earlier than the top of the yr?
JEAN-PIERRE: I’d say: Keep tuned. That is clearly one thing that we’re very dedicated to in terms of defending communities throughout this nation. You noticed that in our antisemitism technique, and clearly we’ve been speaking about this Islamophobia technique as effectively — or speaking about arising with a approach ahead in defending communities. Definitely, that’s the President’s dedication. I don’t have something to share proper now at this second, on the — at this podium, behind this lectern, however I’d say: Keep tuned.
SHALAL: Given — given the previous President’s ban on entry from — for individuals from Muslim-majority nations — often known as the Muslim ban — at first of his time period —
JEAN-PIERRE: Which — which we — you realize, which we repealed and handled that very early on.
SHALAL: No, I perceive.
JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah.
SHALAL: However there have been — you realize, there have been many, many individuals on no-fly lists. And there nonetheless are some individuals on no-fly lists. , do you — is there any preemptive motion that the administration can take to protect in opposition to that form of, you realize, mass transfer once more this time?
JEAN-PIERRE: Properly, you realize the place the President stands on this on this administration. I don’t have any coverage announcement to share with you right now and so, I’ll simply go away it there.
And, close to the tail finish of the hour-plus briefing, The Wall Road Journal’s Annie Linskey puzzled a few potential pardon for the President’s brother, Jim Biden:
WSJ’s Annie Linskey: “You had been requested a number of occasions about whether or not Hunter Biden would obtain a pardon and responded to that query.”
KJP: “Yeah.”
Linksey: “In that vein, are you able to inform me whether or not the President is contemplating a pardon for his son [sic], James Biden?”
KJP:… pic.twitter.com/lYXzYDTLgL
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 12, 2024
To see the related transcript kind the December 12 briefing (together with a sequence of questions from CNN’s Kayla Tausche a few former Biden official ripping the best way the Hunter Biden pardon was dealt with), click on right here.
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