White House won't safe if America's big cities are 'safe'
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre holds a press briefing.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered no clear answers for questions on rising crime rates, Twitter users noticed Monday.
Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioned Jean-Pierre on what President Biden thinks of rising crime statistics affecting major cities over the past year. She ultimately declined to answer directly, claiming that Biden has already done plenty to help cities.
"Does President Biden think America's big cities are safe?" Doocy asked.
"It is not a yes or no question. It is very much a question of what has he done…to make sure that cities…have the funding and have what they need to protect their community, and that is what the president has done," Jean-Pierre responded.
WHITE HOUSE WON’T SAY IF BIDEN THINKS US CITIES ARE SAFE: ‘NOT A YES OR NO QUESTION’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a briefing at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Doocy also confronted Jean-Pierre on former White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s recent statements acknowledging that crime would be a vulnerable subject for Democrats this election cycle. Jean-Pierre once again declined to answer directly, instead insisting that the comments were taken out of context.
Her repeated dodging was attacked on Twitter as crime continues to be a major issue for voters.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., tweeted, "Today, Karine Jean-Pierre dodged several questions about rising crime in America. Meanwhile, she claimed ‘it’s important to have this conversation’ about changing the name of the Atlanta Braves."
Media Research Center associate editor Nicholas Fondacaro wrote, "Peter Doocy trips up Karine Jean-Pierre with one simple question: ‘Does President Biden think America's big cities are safe?’ ‘It is not a yes or no question,’ she answers."
CNN commentator Scott Jennings wrote, "the ability to look into a camera and just completely and totally lie with a straight face is ... something."
"Karine Jean-Pierre is so bad at this," Ted Cruz communications adviser Steve Guest tweeted.
Crime overtook abortion as a top voter concern in a recent poll ahead of the November midterm elections. (FOX 4)
"Yes. It is," News Cycle Media president Jon Nicosia responded to Jean-Pierre’s claim that it wasn’t a "yes or no" question.
"Why does KJP even bother to pretend to answer questions? She should just hand out her notebook that has the same 3 excuses written on every page to save everyone time," comedian Tim Young tweeted.
NYC PSYCHIATRIST SAYS CRIME, HOMELESS CRISES DEVASTAING KIDS’ MENTAL HEALTH, OVERWHELMING PROVIDERS
A recent ABC News and Washington Post poll released on Sunday revealed that crime overtook abortion as a major issue in the lead up to the November midterm election. When asked which political party could be best trusted to handle crime, poll respondents favored the Republican Party at 52% to the Democratic Party at 38%.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been criticized by social media users for fumbling on important questions. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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In August, the National Rifle Association (NRA) blamed Biden’s policies and his call to ban assault weapons as reasons for rising crime rates in cities.