White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is defending President Joe Biden after recent remarks he made about Virginia’s gubernatorial race results.
During a Virginia abortion rights rally on Tuesday, Biden began his speech praising former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe by stating “Hello, Virginia and the real governor, Terry McAuliffe!”
The same day, Jean-Pierre was asked about his comments during a White House press briefing.
“He was making a joke,” she said. “If you play it back, it’s clear that the president was just making a joke.”
The reporter pressed on, asking her to explain what the joke meant.
“He was making a joke about McAuliffe’s previous term as governor,” adding that his comment was not intended to suggest he was denying election results.
“He did not deny. He did not deny it,” Jean-Pierre continued. “He congratulated Governor Youngkin. Matter of fact, when he won his election, he did it out of the gate. Out of the gate. Really. Truly.”
She continued: “We’ve had opportunities to work closely with the governor over the past couple of years and this is a president that works across the aisle. We’ve seen that many times and he was making a joke.”
This is not the first time the press secretary had to defend her boss this month. In early January, she applauded remarks he made about America’s “strong economy,” stating that the effects of his work on the economy were finally starting to show. The comments came at a time when Americans have grown discouraged about the economy.
“It’s going to take a little bit of time for folks to feel what the ‘Bidenomics’ has been able to do,” Jean-Pierre said. “That’s not something that I’m saying. That’s something that economists have said, right? It takes a little bit of time.”
