KJP Goes Through Mental Gymnastics, Won’t Answer Certain Questions, Refuses To Talk About Biden 2024

On April 21, 2023, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced sustained pressure from reporters who challenged her selective invocation of the Hatch Act to avoid questions about the 2024 presidential race. Reporters pressed Jean-Pierre on why she had previously been willing to discuss Donald Trump from the podium but was now citing federal law to refuse comment, leading to a series of exchanges that observers described as “mental gymnastics” as Jean-Pierre attempted to draw distinctions between discussing Trump’s past policies and his current candidacy.

Hatch Act Invoked to Avoid 2024 Questions

The briefing came amid reports that President Biden was preparing to formally announce his 2024 reelection campaign. The Washington Post had reported on Wednesday that Biden’s team was wrapping up plans to release a video announcing his candidacy, possibly as early as the following Tuesday. Biden had been signaling his intention to run for months, and he was scheduled to meet with 50 to 100 of the Democratic Party’s top fundraisers in Washington.

Jean-Pierre opened by establishing her position: “Federal law prohibits me from discussing campaign-related topics from this podium, so I will be following that law and not discussing anything regarding the 2024 race.”

The Hatch Act, a federal law dating back to 1939, prohibits executive branch employees from engaging in political campaign activities while on the job. Jean-Pierre cited it as the reason she could not discuss anything related to the upcoming election.

Reporters Challenge the Inconsistency

The central tension of the briefing was the apparent inconsistency in Jean-Pierre’s application of the Hatch Act. Reporters pointed out that she had previously discussed Donald Trump extensively from the podium but was now refusing to do so.

One reporter confronted her directly: “Why have you been willing to talk about President Trump before? Were you in violation of the Hatch Act when you did so?”

Jean-Pierre denied any violation: “Absolutely not. Because we’re talking about what the President has done in the administration.” She then elaborated: “Because I’m saying the President Trump, we were talking about what he did in the last administration. We were talking about policies that were harmful in the past administration.”

The reporter pressed back, noting the distinction was artificial: “He asked me does the President still believe that Donald Trump is a threat? If he wins, right? Because he’s going to be, he’s a candidate. That’s something different.”

Jean-Pierre attempted to maintain the line: “No, no, no. He didn’t answer. Can I just say what I said? I was asking, is the President, is President Biden, does he follow the words and actions of this person, Donald Trump?”

The reporter continued: “Yes, as a candidate, right? As a candidate.”

Jean-Pierre responded: “So yes, I’m not, I’m not, no, I’m saying I’m not talking about 2024."

"He’s Been a Candidate for Like a Year”

The exchange escalated as the reporter pointed out the timeline problem with Jean-Pierre’s distinction. Trump had announced his presidential candidacy in November 2022, meaning he had been a declared candidate for approximately five months by the time of this briefing. Yet Jean-Pierre had continued to discuss him from the podium during that period.

The reporter noted: “Donald Trump has been a candidate for reelection or for election, however you want to call it. I understand that. For like a year. And you’ve talked, I mean you’ve talked about him a lot.”

Jean-Pierre acknowledged: “Yes, about.” She then attempted to maintain her distinction: “As, as I talked about his policies.”

The logical difficulty was clear: if the Hatch Act prevented Jean-Pierre from discussing Trump because he was a 2024 candidate, she should have stopped discussing him months earlier when he announced his candidacy. Her continued commentary about Trump’s policies during the period he was already a declared candidate undermined her claim that the law now prevented her from addressing questions about him.

Reporter Attempts Creative Framing

Recognizing Jean-Pierre’s position, one reporter attempted to frame a question about Trump in a way that would not trigger the Hatch Act excuse: “But Donald Trump is the front runner at the moment. Clear front runner of the Republican Party. He wants to be president and he’s the front runner of his party. This is somebody the President Biden is described as a danger, literally a danger of the country and his movement. An existential threat to democracy, et cetera. So candidate or not, is President, current President Biden, is he following the words and actions of Donald Trump on a fairly regular basis, considering he’s a danger in his view?”

Jean-Pierre pivoted away from Trump entirely and onto congressional Republicans: “What we know to be a threat is the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and Speaker McCarthy who are put forward a plan, a blueprint that’s holding the American economy hostage. That’s a threat. That’s a threat to our economy.”

The answer redirected from the specific question about whether Biden was monitoring Trump’s statements to a broader attack on Republican fiscal policy, avoiding any direct engagement with the reporter’s framing.

Reporter Tries Fourth Anniversary Angle

Another reporter made a creative attempt to get Jean-Pierre to discuss the campaign: “Does the President have any plans to mark the fourth anniversary of his announcement of his 2020 campaign?”

Jean-Pierre laughed and acknowledged the clever effort: “That’s a good, that’s very good. I had to try. I don’t have anything else beyond the week ahead that I just laid out. But I really appreciate the effort. That was very good.”

A different reporter made a more direct attempt: “It’s not a 2024. I’m gonna hatch a type of question. Let’s put it up.” Jean-Pierre responded playfully: “That’s what you think. I’m trying to challenge you. I don’t think it’s possible.”

The reporter responded: “I know, I love how you’re setting it up. I’m getting that out the way first.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene Question Inserted

During the briefing, Jean-Pierre also made what appeared to be a pointed reference to Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene: “Will Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Green vote to eliminate the investments helping to create 2,500 solar manufacturing jobs in her district?”

The question appeared to be a White House messaging point designed to highlight perceived Republican hypocrisy on energy policy, as Greene represented a district that was receiving federal clean energy investment under laws that Republicans had opposed.

Additional Context

The April 21, 2023 briefing illustrated the awkward position the White House found itself in as Biden’s reelection campaign approached. Jean-Pierre’s invocation of the Hatch Act was legally defensible in a narrow sense, as federal employees are prohibited from engaging in campaign activity while performing their official duties. However, the timing of the sudden enforcement — coinciding with Biden’s imminent campaign announcement rather than with Trump’s candidacy announcement months earlier — gave the impression of selective application.

Reporters’ frustration was evident throughout the briefing, as multiple journalists attempted different approaches to get Jean-Pierre to address the 2024 race. The exchanges highlighted the inherent tension between a White House press secretary’s dual role as a government spokesperson and a de facto defender of the President’s political interests.

Biden officially announced his 2024 reelection campaign four days later, on April 25, 2023, with a video release.

Key Takeaways

• Jean-Pierre cited the Hatch Act to refuse all questions about the 2024 presidential race, despite having previously discussed Donald Trump extensively from the podium during the months after he declared his candidacy.
• When a reporter asked whether she had been violating the Hatch Act by discussing Trump previously, Jean-Pierre said “absolutely not” and drew a distinction between discussing Trump’s past policies and his current candidacy.
• A reporter pointed out that Trump “has been a candidate for like a year” and Jean-Pierre had “talked about him a lot” during that time, undermining her claimed legal distinction.
• When pressed on whether Biden viewed Trump as a danger, Jean-Pierre pivoted to attacking “the MAGA wing of the Republican Party and Speaker McCarthy” rather than answering about Trump specifically.
• Biden officially announced his 2024 reelection bid four days after this briefing, on April 25, 2023.