Reporters Confront KJP: “How Did We Twist Those Words? He Said We’re Shutting Those Plants Down!” — KJP Claims Biden’s Coal Comments Were “Twisted”

On 11/7/2022, the day before the midterm elections, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced sustained pushback from multiple reporters over the administration’s claim that Biden’s “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America” coal comments had been “twisted.” KJP insisted “his words were twisted” and that the full transcript showed Biden was “commenting on a fact of economics and technology.” But reporters weren’t having it. One asked directly: “Who twisted them? Did Manchin twist them?” Another shouted: “How did we twist those words? He said ‘we’re shutting those plants down!’” KJP ignored the challenge and moved on — unable to explain how a direct quote constituted a “twisting” of the president’s words.

The Weekend Cleanup

The exchange began with a reporter asking about the unusual weekend damage-control effort. “We don’t often get a very lengthy Saturday statement from you clarifying the President’s remarks from the day prior,” the reporter noted. “Can you walk through what the genesis of that was and whether or not you guys thought that perhaps it would be politically problematic had those statements been allowed to stand?”

KJP’s Saturday statement had read: “The President’s remarks yesterday have been twisted to suggest a meaning that was not intended; he regrets it if anyone hearing these remarks took offense. The President was commenting on a fact of economics and technology.”

The statement was notable for several reasons. First, it was issued on a Saturday — a day the White House communications team typically reserved for genuine emergencies. The urgency suggested the coal comments were recognized internally as a significant political problem. Second, the “regrets if anyone took offense” formulation was a non-apology apology — expressing regret about the audience’s reaction rather than about the president’s words. Third, the “twisted” claim blamed the press and public for misinterpreting a statement that was, by any reading, exactly what it sounded like.

”Who Twisted Them?”

A CBS reporter pressed KJP to identify who had done the twisting. “You mentioned a couple times that Biden’s words on coal were twisted. So, who twisted them? Did Manchin twist them? Did someone else twist them?” the reporter asked.

The mention of Manchin was pointed. Senator Joe Manchin — Biden’s own party member and the most important Democratic vote in the Senate — had publicly rebuked Biden for the coal comments. If even Manchin “twisted” Biden’s words by criticizing them, then Biden’s own party was twisting his message. If Manchin correctly interpreted them, then the White House was lying about what Biden said.

KJP’s response avoided naming anyone. “It’s how it was reported out. This is important — if you read the full transcript, the president was very clear,” KJP said.

The “full transcript” defense was the administration’s fallback — the idea that surrounding context would soften the impact of the specific quote. But the full transcript made things worse, not better. Biden’s preceding sentences — about coal plants costing too much, coal operators who “can’t count,” and plants converting to wind generation — built a coherent narrative that culminated naturally in “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America.” The context confirmed the quote rather than mitigating it.

”How Did We Twist Those Words?”

A second reporter delivered the most direct challenge. “How did we twist those words? He said ‘we’re shutting those plants down!’” the reporter shouted.

KJP ignored the question and moved on. “Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead, Phil,” she said — using her standard technique of calling on a different reporter when the current line of questioning became unmanageable.

The shouted follow-up captured the press corps’ frustration with the “twisted” defense. Biden had said “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America.” The reporters had reported that Biden said “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America.” There was no twisting — there was a direct quote, reported accurately, that the White House found politically inconvenient.

”Fighting for Coal Communities”

KJP attempted to reframe Biden’s position. “The president is fighting for coal communities,” she said, citing the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions for energy transition assistance.

A reporter spotted the contradiction immediately. “That doesn’t mean that he’s fighting to keep these coal mines open, does it?” the reporter asked.

KJP’s response was circular. “Look, the president — I laid out very clearly about how the president sees his part in this and what he has done,” she said.

The reporter pressed further. “So that sounds like you’re helping them as the market through economic transition is moving away from coal. That doesn’t sound like you’re taking any deregulatory efforts or any steps to help the mines themselves stay open. Is that correct?”

“Look, I’ve been very clear. The president’s been very clear on this. Don’t have anything more to add,” KJP said — the third time in the exchange she claimed clarity while providing none.

The reporter’s line of questioning exposed the fundamental incoherence. Biden was “fighting for coal communities” — but not by keeping coal mines open. The “fight” was for transition assistance: federal money to help communities survive the death of their primary industry. It was a fight to manage decline, not to prevent it. Calling that “fighting for coal communities” was like a doctor telling a terminal patient they were “fighting for” them by providing hospice care.

The Political Damage

Biden’s coal comments — delivered Friday evening in California — had dominated the final weekend of the midterm campaign. Republican candidates in coal-state races immediately incorporated the clip into closing advertisements. Manchin’s rebuke became a separate news cycle. The White House’s Saturday cleanup statement generated a third news cycle. And Monday’s briefing room confrontation produced a fourth.

Four days of negative coal coverage in the closing stretch of a midterm election — caused by a single sentence from the president — illustrated how unscripted Biden remarks repeatedly overwhelmed the administration’s planned messaging. The communications team had spent months crafting a closing economic argument; Biden demolished it with one enthusiastic declaration about shutting down coal plants.

”It Was Loud and Hard to Hear”

KJP offered one particularly unconvincing defense. “It was loud and hard to hear, I think, or maybe not exactly what was being said,” KJP said — suggesting that the quote might have been misheard.

The suggestion was undermined by the fact that the White House had itself released the official transcript containing the exact words reporters were quoting. Biden clearly said “we’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America.” The audio was clear. The transcript confirmed it. KJP’s suggestion that it might have been misheard was grasping at straws.

Key Takeaways

• KJP claimed Biden’s “shutting these plants down all across America” coal comments were “twisted” — reporters asked “how did we twist those words? He said we’re shutting those plants down!”
• When asked “who twisted them — did Manchin twist them?” KJP couldn’t name anyone, saying only “it’s how it was reported out.”
• A reporter exposed the contradiction: Biden was “fighting for coal communities” but not fighting to keep coal mines open — the “fight” was for transition assistance during industry decline.
• KJP suggested the quote might have been misheard because “it was loud” — despite the White House’s own transcript confirming the exact words.
• The coal comments dominated four days of closing midterm coverage, overwhelming the administration’s planned economic messaging.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

• We believe his words were twisted, and we were very clear about that. We just wanted to make sure there was some clarity.
• We’re going to be shutting these plants down all across America and having wind and solar.
• Who twisted them? Did Manchin twist them? — It’s how it was reported out.
• That doesn’t mean he’s fighting to keep these coal mines open, does it?
• How did we twist those words? He said we’re shutting those plants down!
• I’ve been very clear. The president’s been very clear on this. Don’t have anything more to add.

Full transcript: 672 words transcribed via Whisper AI.