On 3/1/2023, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “… how hard it is for families with an empty chair at the kitchen table because of COV. If we now know, according to the FBI director, who is most likely responsible for all those empty chairs at all those kitchen tables, why not do more to try to hold them accountable?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So — so, I’m going to flip that on its head for a second. It was because of this President that took action — by the way, the last administration did not; they did not have a comprehensive plan to actually —
Doocy: But before that —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, no, no, no, no. No —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, but — but —
Doocy: If we know that it’s China —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Peter, you can’t tell — first of all, you can’t tell me how to answer the question. I’m going to answer it for you. Right? So just give me a second.
Doocy: Thank you.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So because he took those actions, he actually helped to save …
Jean-Pierre: “Smart” To Wait Until Chinese Spy Balloon Had Surveilled Entire Country Before Shooting
Doocy: Why is President Biden afraid of China?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: The President is not afraid of China.
Doocy: Well —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Did you see — did you see the President last week, when we went to — when we went to — when we went to Ukraine, went to Kyiv? This is not a President that’s afraid of anything …
Doocy: China flew a spy craft over the U.S. The President didn’t really do anything to China. And according to the FBI director, China may have created something that has killed more than 1.1 million people in this country. And President Biden is not punishing them.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: … As we talk about the Chinese surveillance — the China surveillance balloon, the President did take that down. And he did it in a way that, as it was on its path, we collected information from it; we protected our national security information on the ground; and we did it in a way that was smart, effective, and also protected the American people …
Karine Jean-Pierre Makes Absolutely No Sense When Asked If Biden Is Considering TikTok Ban
Reporter: But does that — do the actions include a ban on all devices in the U.S.?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, what I would — what I would say is this: The White House does not use TikTok. And — but we do believe — we do believe that — that, you know, Congress took action. And so, therefore, clearly, we’re — they took action and put this into law. And clearly, we’re taking — taking those steps as it — as it relates to the federal government.
Reporter: I guess what I’m trying to understand is: You know, has the President not issued a federal ban on TikTok on all devices because he does not think it’s a threat to national security or because he does not have a legal mechanism to do so?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I’m not going to get into the specifics on what he has legally to do so or to not do so. What I’m saying — and we’ve been very clear that TikTok, you know, poses a problem and an issue. And so, we have concerns about that as it relates to Americans’ data — collecting Americans’ data and the potential national security risk. And we’ve been very, very clear on that.
Reporter: You talked about TikTok earlier. I’m just curious now, why did the administration then wait so long to ban TikTok in all federal employees? Twenty-nine states have already done it. And the President, his first month in office, canceled an investigation by the Commerce Department into TikTok. So why did he wait so long?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I’m not going to speak to any investigation. Look, the process is happening now. That’s what we’re seeing. What I can say is that the President has very — been very clear about his concern with apps like TikTok .. look, the Unity Agenda kind of lays out how the President wants to move forward. I’m not going to go beyond that.
Reporter: Just another question on TikTok. You all have had TikTok influencers in the building before; you’ve briefed them before. Given the focus on the national security concerns, do you still feel like that’s an appropriate way to engage with the app?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, as — as I’ve mentioned before, the White House, clearly, does not — does not use TikTok. But one thing that we do believe in is meeting the American people where they are. And the reality is some — many of them — millions of them are — are on this app.
Reporter: A quick follow-up on the ESG Labor rule. You had framed, the White House has framed this as kind of MAGA Republicans imposing their views on the free market. The fact that two Democratic senators say they’re going to vote for this bill, does that undermine that argument?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: No, not at all, because this is a — this is some
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KJP: you can’t tell me how to answer question. Q: Why is President Biden afraid of China? Tiktok