White House says Biden's laugh while discussing fentanyl crisis taken out of context: 'his heart goes out'
The White House accused Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of regularly mischaracterizing the president's words
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday said President Biden’s laugh while discussing a mother who lost her two children to fentanyl overdoses was being taken out of context and that his heart goes out to all victims.
The laugh came during Biden’s speech at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference in Baltimore on Wednesday night. The president was reacting to comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who had suggested that his administration was to blame for the fentanyl overdose of a woman’s two sons in 2020.
"Listen to this mother, who lost two children to fentanyl poisoning, tell the truth about both of her son’s murders because of the Biden administration’s refusal to secure our border and stop the Cartel’s from murdering Americans everyday by Chinese fentanyl," Greene tweeted after a House hearing on the southern border crisis.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}AMERICAN FENTANYL CRISIS ‘UNLEASHED ON PURPOSE’ BY MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS, AG GARLAND SAYS
While discussing Greene's comments and the loss of the woman’s two sons, Biden laughed.
"Isn't [Marjorie Taylor Greene] amazing?" he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"[S]he was very specific recently, saying that a mom, a poor mother who lost two kids to fentanyl, that, that I killed her sons. Well, the interesting thing is that fentanyl they took came during the last administration," Biden said while laughing.
Asked Thursday if Biden regretted the way it came out, Jean-Pierre said the president has himself dealt with tragedy and sympathized with the mother.
President Biden gives the keynote address on the first night of "People Over Politics" House Democrats 2023 Issues Conference at the Hyatt Baltimore Inner Harbor in Baltimore on Wednesday. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"I believe the American people know who he is fundamentally because he’s been around for some time and they have watched him go through grief. They have watched him deal with personal loss," Jean-Pierre said, adding that "his heart goes out to any person who has to go through that type of trauma, that type of hurt."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jean-Pierre said the president’s words were regularly being "mischaracterized" by Greene, "who is regularly discredited for things that she says that are really conspiracy theories and those lies are being parroted by a certain network."
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Greene’s office for a response.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.