Your opinions don’t matter to the White House.
During Tuesday’s press conference, Peter Doocy of Fox News questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about whether President Joe Biden’s casual use of the phrase “extremism” extended to the protestors who oppose Israel.
Jean-Pierre’s ridiculous, milquetoast reply made it plain that no, in fact, it did not.
“What I can say, is what we’ve been very clear about this, when it comes to anti-Semitism, there is no place,” Jean-Pierre said.
The dull press secretary then spoke platitudes from the prepared text.
The unimpressive press secretary then began reading platitudes from written notes.
“We have to make sure that we speak against it, very loud, and be very clear about that,” she said.
Next came the obligatory reference to a tiny group of domestic neo-Nazis who held a rally six years ago in Virginia and whom literally everyone despises.
“Remember, what the president decided to — when the president decided to run for president — is what he saw in Charlottesville in 2017, when we — he saw neo-Nazis marching down the streets of Charlottesville with vile, anti-Semitic, just hatred, and he was very clear then, and he’s very clear now,” the press secretary said, implying that Biden courageously ran for president to save the country from neo-Nazis who probably could hold their annual meetings in a basement somewhere.
Then, without pausing, Jean-Pierre again extolled the president’s apparent clarity.
“He’s taken actions against this over the past two years. And he’s continued to be clear. There is no place — no place — for this type of vile and this — this kind of rhetoric,” she said.
Doocy, of course, noticed that the press secretary had not answered his very straightforward question.
“We hear you guys, though, talk about extremists all the time. And it’s usually about ‘MAGA extremists.’ So what about these protesters who are making Jewish students feel unsafe on college campuses? Are they extremists?” he asked.
Once again, the press secretary praised the administration’s abundance of clarity, this time citing her example.
“I’ve been very, very clear. We are calling out any form of hate — any form of hate. It is not acceptable. It should not be acceptable here. And we are gonna continue to call that out,” she said, again refusing to give a direct answer.
Then, Jean-Pierre promised more clarity before changing the subject altogether.
“And let me be very clear. This is a president that has continued to have that fight in his office — in this administration — you know, when he repealed Trump’s Muslim ban on his very first day in office. That is something that this president did,” she said.
A query on anti-Semitism would only lead the Biden administration to bring up Trump’s so-called Muslim ban.
Alas, the press secretary kept speaking.
“He also established an inter-policy committee to counter Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and related forms of bias and discrimination. We’ve taken this very, very, very seriously, from the president all the way on down,” she said.
WATCH: White House refuses to call anti-Israel protestors "extremists" despite fear among Jewish students. https://t.co/AqlavU1mNo pic.twitter.com/vSWzhlYYXh
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 31, 2023
If you were keeping track, Jean-Pierre said the word “clear” seven times before he finally answered Doocy’s question. She also brought up the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Islamophobia, and the “Muslim ban.”
All this she did to avoid calling the anti-Israel protestors “extremists.”
Jean-Pierre’s evasive response and the double standard it represented were quickly called out on various social media platforms.
“She danced around the question as usual. They were not treated the same as MAGA protesters, some [of whom] went to prison. Pro-Palestine Protesters were arrested and released. None of them will go to prison,” one X user posted, apparently referring to demonstrators who stormed the Cannon House Office Building on Oct. 18.
‘Are They Extremists?’: Doocy Asks KJP If Pro-Palestine Protesters Are Held To Same Standard As ‘MAGA’ Republicans
She danced around the question as usual. They were not treated the same as MAGA protesters, some went to prison. Pro-Palestine Protesters were arrested and…
— Reel Lady ???????? (@Cbaxter214) October 31, 2023
In a speech posted to X last week, Tucker Carlson described a White House press briefing as, “a humiliation exercise because it’s administered by the dumbest person in public life.”
You can say you care about America, but if you’re sending $100 billion to foreign countries right now, you’re lying. pic.twitter.com/jFmBlAW3qG
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 25, 2023
Naturally, Carlson was correct. During his over-two-minute monologue, Jean-Pierre said nothing of substance. That’s what we anticipate.
He elaborated on what we may infer about elites’ views of the American people from her sheer presence.
“The whole point of her being the White House spokes-moron is to tell you that the people in charge have no respect for you,” Carlson said.
We can’t help but think the entire briefing is a joke after hearing her awkward delivery (“That is something that this president did”).
But as Carlson pointed out, there is a reason for such briefings.
It was obvious to everyone paying attention that Doocy did not probe Jean-Pierre’s thoughts on hatred in general. He queried her about the president’s use of the word “extremist.”
The fact that she didn’t directly answer the question about whether or not anti-Israel protestors were “extremist” demonstrated two key points.
The first thing it proved was that the Biden administration will continue to classify as “extremist” its domestic political opponents but not those who would want to re-enact the Holocaust.
Second, it demonstrated that the administration’s top officials do not give a damn about public opinion.
At least on one front, Jean-Pierre was quite clear.