White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday was asked whether President Joe Biden has a preferred way to communicate with the American people — something he rarely does.
“The President is the best communicator that we have in the White House,” she said.
If that’s the case, hoo boy, we’re in trouble.
In the last few weeks, the U.S. military has shot down three unidentified flying objects and helped Canada shoot down a fourth. But Biden has barely addressed the issue, even as lawmakers on Capitol Hill have upped their demands that he deliver a national address.
“I think it is time for the President to address the nation,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said on Tuesday. “This is when we need to have an Oval Office address. And he needs to say this is what we know. This is what we’re doing.”
“This has been going on for a long time and we don’t know what most of them are,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said. “The President & the DNI [Director of National Intelligence] need to explain what these things are, who put them up there and do they pose a threat.”
Even Democrats are demanding Biden explain what’s going on. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said, “the American people need and deserve to know more.” But more than 11 days after a Chinese balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after traveling across the entire country, still no address by Biden.
So let’s take a look at the “best communicator” in the White House.
“Jackie Are You Here?”
Biden delivered a speech in September at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in Washington, D.C. As he often does, he gave a bunch of shout-outs.
“I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like … Senator Braun, Senator Booker, Representative … Jackie, Jackie are you here?” Biden said, searching for Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN). “I think she was going to be here to help make this a reality.”
The problem: Walorski was dead. She died, along with three others, in a head-on car crash on August 3.
“The Pandemic Is Over”
The same month, Biden made a declaration.
“The pandemic is over,” the president said during an interview with “60 Minutes” anchor Scott Pelley at the Detroit Auto Show. “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it … but the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape.”
The White House was forced to walk back the comments almost immediately.
“What he really meant is that the very severe stage of the pandemic of having … 3,000 deaths a day — that stage is no longer present,” Anthony Fauci, the top White House medical adviser, told POLITICO. “People should not be cavalier that we’re out of the woods.”
“One China”
Biden, long a self-described foreign policy expert, doesn’t understand U.S. foreign policy.
Asked whether the U.S. would intervene if China were to invade Taiwan, Biden said: “Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack.”
While the U.S.’s “one China” policy does not recognize Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, the U.S. does acknowledge the Chinese government’s position that Taiwan is a part of China.
The administration swiftly walked that one back, too.
“When the President of the United States wants to announce a policy change, he will do so. He has not done so,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
“Cannot Remain In Power”
During a trip to Europe in April 2022, Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power,” hinting at regime change. He also called Putin a war criminal and suggested American troops would be deployed to Ukraine to respond “in kind” if Russia were to use chemical weapons.
That, too, got quickly walked back.
“The president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia, or regime change,” a White House official told Fox News Digital after the comments on Putin.
“Not Saying It’s Going To Be Legit”
Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, Biden cast doubt on its eventual outcome, implying they would be illegitimate if Congress did not pass voting rights legislation.
“Well, it all depends on whether or not we’re able to make the case to the American people that some of this is being set up to try to alter the outcome of the election,” Biden said during a press conference in January.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be legit, as the increase in the prospect of being illegitimate is a direct proportion to us not being able to get these reforms passed,” he added.
Broken record: The White House walked that back as well.
There are just too many to list (here’s Time’s Top 10), but we’d suggest to the powers that be at the White House that Biden is not the best communicator they’ve got.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.