Karine Jean-Pierre and the Lies: “Careful not to step in the ******** there, Weichert!” was what the first campaign manager I ever worked for in 2006 admonished after we had a meeting with the campaign’s press secretary.
It was a local campaign in Orlando, Florida, and we were losing.
But the press secretary in question kept spinning until the bitter end.
It’s what they do. Some are remarkable at their job; they spin and lie to your face, and you might not even realize it (or you might be so awed by their ability that you simply let the lies slide).
Others make Baghdad Bob look like a truth-teller. Those are the ones who, regardless of party, usually don’t last long in their jobs. The worst thing a magician can do, after all, is let you see the real way in which they perform their tricks.
With a press secretary, particularly of any given White House administration, it’s a question of picking your preferred poison. Democrats hated Donald Trump’s most effective press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, while Republicans championed her as a consummate professional.
Karine Jean-Pierre and the Circle of Lies
Meanwhile, Karine Jean-Pierre (KJP), the current Biden Administration White House press secretary, has been at the epicenter of controversies, at least in the eyes of the right.
But even for those who aren’t inherently opposed to Biden’s presidency, KJP’s spin on things is widely castigated.
One of her most appalling lies came about during a recent interview on CNN. Addressing the host’s observation that there exists a poll in which more than two-thirds of likely Democratic Party voters say they don’t want Joe Biden to be the Democratic Party’s nominee in 2024, KJP seemed nonplussed. Brushing the poll aside, KJP acknowledged that Biden’s age was a concern for many people.
However, she quickly sidestepped that fact and explained, “It is hard to keep up with the president, who is constantly, constantly working every day to get things done!”
This, as the New York Post has reported that President Biden works only 30 hours a week – and has spent 40 percent of his presidency on vacation. He is the epitome of a part-time president. Democrats can try to argue that he’s the most effective president from a legislative standpoint since Lyndon B. Johnson was in office.
But no one really believes that.
Even if it were true, and his legislation did, in fact, get done what it was supposed to achieve, few would buy it simply because of how shambolic Biden’s public appearances consistently are.
First, Do No Harm
As for the efficacy of Biden’s legislation, let’s look at it the way that medical professionals are supposed to view treatments for their patients: the Hippocratic Oath. Under that ancient oath, medical professionals swear to first, do no harm. So, no matter how badly a patient under their care may be suffering, if the potential treatment will do more harm to the patient, then the medical professionals cannot apply the treatment under normal conditions.
This should also apply to elected officials when seeking to enact sweeping policies and laws the way that President Biden (or, rather, his partisan advisors) wants to do. In the case of Biden’s policies, all these programs have required the expenditure of large sums of tax dollars.
When he came into office, the country had printed more money in the course of 18 months than any other nation in the history of humanity had printed. That money was then spent on supposed COVID relief stimulus checks and other pandemic-related spending.
Because of the Trump-era COVID spending, Biden inherited a ticking debt bomb. Rather than take the prudent course and rein in government spending, Biden refused to countenance such an eventuality.
Like most modern American politicians, Biden was preternaturally incapable of fiscal restraint. So, Biden enacted a series of policies that exploded national spending at a time when spending was already at record-breaking levels. Specifically, Biden has spent nearly $5 trillion in the last two years alone.
This will be added to America’s massive national deficit.
Already the effects of the Trump-era COVID policies plus Biden’s profligate spending have forced the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation by hiking interest rates. Both high inflation as well as massively high interest rates are hurting the already ailing American middle class the most.
Inflation, as Milton Friedman used to argue, acts as a hidden tax on the middle class. And the high interest rates the Fed is using to combat the high inflation make it nearly impossible for the middle class to make big purchases, such as buying a house. Thus, Biden’s policies are destroying the middle class and serving only the wealthy.
Karine Jean-Pierre Must Be Careful
When Karine Jean-Pierre lies and says she can’t keep up with the president because he’s always moving so quickly to serve the American people, it strains credulity. How can a part-time president achieve this?
What’s more, which Americans is he actually serving?
He certainly isn’t serving normal folks, like you and me. My first campaign manager was right when dealing with press secretaries: be careful not to step in the ********, otherwise, you’ll get stuck.
A 19FortyFive Senior Editor, Brandon J. Weichert is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who is a contributor at The Washington Times, as well as at the Asia Times. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower (Republic Book Publishers), Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life (Encounter Books), and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy (July 23). Weichert occasionally serves as a Subject Matter Expert for various organizations, including the Department of Defense. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
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