#shorts On 2/23/2023, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “the President frequently visits the sites of many natural and manmade disasters. And this situation in East Palestine has clearly required a multi-agency response from the federal and the state level. So I guess I’m just struggling to understand why the President wouldn’t go to East Palestine. Does it simply not meet the bar for a presidential visit?”

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I don’t — it’s — I want to be very clear here: There’s no reason to struggle, I don’t think, on this question. I think when you look at how

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. (Laughter.) What was that?

Reporter: Just a little — it’s a little family tune.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Oh, it’s pretty — a pretty good tune there. Oh. All right. Peter Alexander getting down with his phone. (Laughter.) Okay. So — and it didn’t stop — what I want to say is that it didn’t stop with the Environmental Protection Agency. Again, FEMA, CDC —

Reporter: Yeah, but that’s all different from a presidential visit, which is what I’m asking about.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, it’s — I — I — look, I want to be very clear here. I don’t — again, I don’t have anything to share on a presidential visit …

Reporter: Of course. But so does showing up.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — taking it seriously.

Reporter: Right?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, showing up is having the Environmental Protection Administrator on the ground.

other clips of this published longer video is here: https://youtu.be/D3__stSChQQ
Karine Jean-Pierre struggles to say exactly why Biden is dodging a visit to East Palestine, Ohio.