Karine Jean-Pierre ended her interview with a local North Carolina radio station abruptly. This left the reporter and the host surprised.
She was speaking to 99.3 WBT Charlotte News Director Mark Garrison before President Biden's visit to Raleigh. Garrison shared his experience on "The Brett Winterble Show," where he played parts of the interview.
During the interview, Garrison asked if Biden has "dementia." He mentioned that many people wanted him to ask this. Jean-Pierre found the question "incredibly offensive" and accused Garrison of taking the discussion in an inappropriate direction.
Jean-Pierre refused to entertain the premise of Garrison's question on dementia, calling it "incredibly insulting." She suggested moving on to another topic.
Garrison then inquired about the impact of rising gas and grocery prices on Biden's voter support. Jean-Pierre responded by highlighting Biden's understanding of American families' struggles and his actions to address economic issues and gas prices, emphasizing improvements during his administration.
"Look, the president understands. He grew up in a middle-class, working-class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He gets it. He understands how difficult it is for Americans who are sitting around their kitchen table every month trying to figure out what they’re going to pay for. You have to remember, when the president walked into this administration, there were multiple crises happening," Jean-Pierre responded.
KJP continued, "There was COVID, the economy was in a tailspin because of the last administration, because of what President Trump left us with. Now you’re asking me about gas prices. The president took action on gas prices. Let’s not forget Russia’s invasion on Ukraine skyrocketed prices of gas. And because the president took action, we see we are in a different place than we were a year ago in gas prices. Eggs, milk, seafood products, all the important groceries, those costs have gone down because of what this president has been able to do."
"And, and with that, thank you so much, Mark. Have an amazing, amazing day," Jean-Pierre said before abruptly ending the call.
Winterble praised Garrison for his pertinent questions and suggested he should join the White House press corps. Garrison was surprised by the call's abrupt end, especially since the White House initiated the interview.
Garrison hinted at releasing more clips from the interview. Pete Kaliner aired additional audio, revealing the full interview lasted about six minutes.
The White House responded to inquiries by stating Jean-Pierre had multiple interviews lined up, each allocated 7 minutes. They claimed the station chose not to air the full interview and misleadingly added a sound effect to the call's end.
