KJP Stumbles Through “It Is, It Is, It Is” Before Warning Republicans Will Use Debt Ceiling as “Political Football” and “Crash the Economy”

On 10/25/2022, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre struggled through a 30-second answer about the debt ceiling, stammering “it is, it is, it is, you know, it is not, it is a, it is, you know, it is reckless” before finding her talking points. She warned that Republican plans to use the debt ceiling to pressure spending cuts were “reckless” and would be “catastrophic,” insisted Biden believed the debt limit “should not be used as a political football,” and repeated the “stark choice” argument that “Republicans will crash the economy.” When a reporter asked whether Biden agreed with Treasury Secretary Yellen’s suggestion to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, KJP said she hadn’t seen Yellen’s comments — despite Yellen being Biden’s own Treasury Secretary.

”It Is, It Is, It Is”

The briefing’s most viral moment came when KJP attempted to characterize Republican debt ceiling strategy. “And, you know, it is, it is, it is, you know, it is not, it is a, it is, you know, it is reckless,” KJP said — producing approximately 30 seconds of false starts and verbal stumbling before arriving at her point.

The extended stammer appeared to result from KJP searching for her place in her briefing binder while simultaneously trying to form a coherent sentence. The difficulty highlighted a recurring criticism of KJP’s briefing room performance: her heavy reliance on prepared notes meant that any departure from the script — or any difficulty finding the right page — produced extended periods of verbal incoherence.

“It is playing a reckless game with our economy,” KJP finally continued once she located her talking points. “And it would be catastrophic if they were to do that. It would not help inflation. It would hurt inflation if Republicans were to do that. You would increase cost.”

The Debt Ceiling as “Political Football”

KJP laid out Biden’s position. “The president has been very clear about that, about not using the debt limit as a political football,” KJP said. “And he’ll continue to speak to that and speak against that as congressional Republicans lay out what they want to do in the next couple of months.”

The “political football” characterization was standard presidential rhetoric about the debt ceiling — every administration made the same argument when the opposing party threatened to use debt ceiling votes as leverage. Biden himself, as a senator, had voted against raising the debt ceiling in 2006 when Republicans controlled the White House — a vote he later called “a mistake,” though at the time he called the debt ceiling increase evidence of “a failure of leadership” by President George W. Bush.

The double standard — treating debt ceiling votes as legitimate opposition when your party is in the minority but “reckless” hostage-taking when the other party does it — was bipartisan hypocrisy stretching back decades.

”Republicans Will Crash the Economy”

KJP repeated Biden’s midterm closing argument. “The president has talked about the stark choice that the country faces between allowing Democrats to remain in power and putting Republicans in power,” KJP said. “He’s talked about how Republicans will crash the economy.”

She cited the IRA again as evidence. “They also have said that they were going to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. They would take that away in a time when middle-class families are dealing with inflation,” KJP said. “This is also a plan, as you know, that deals with climate change in a real way, and they want to take that away.”

The argument — that repealing a bill with “negligible” inflation impact would somehow crash the economy — remained as tenuous as when Biden first made it. The White House never explained the mechanism by which IRA repeal would produce an economic crash, because no credible mechanism existed.

The Yellen Contradiction

A reporter exposed an internal contradiction. “Last week, the president said it would be ‘irresponsible’ to abolish the debt ceiling,” the reporter said. “There are a number of Democrats and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who have said that should be considered or they’ve advocated for getting rid of it altogether. Does the president disagree with the Treasury Secretary?”

The question highlighted a split within the administration. Biden called debt ceiling abolition “irresponsible.” His own Treasury Secretary had suggested it. The positions were contradictory.

KJP’s response was a non-answer. “As it relates to Secretary Yellen’s comments, I would have to see them in full,” KJP said — a surprising claim given that Yellen was a member of Biden’s own Cabinet whose public statements on fiscal policy would presumably be known to the White House press office.

“The president believes that it should not be used as a political football,” KJP continued, repeating her talking point without addressing the contradiction with Yellen’s position.

The reporter pressed the follow-up: “Might he reconsider based on the threat? A number of Democrats are calling for abolishing the debt limit.”

“The president’s been very clear. He is calling out the scheme that he’s seen from congressional Republicans, and that’s shameful,” KJP said — again declining to address whether Biden agreed or disagreed with his own Treasury Secretary.

The Elon Musk Twitter Question

The briefing also included questions about Elon Musk’s pending acquisition of Twitter. A reporter asked whether the government was considering any national security review of the purchase or Musk’s other ventures including Starlink.

“I’m saying I don’t know of any such discussions,” KJP said. When pressed on whether the administration had concerns about “the Twitter purchase with some foreign investors, or Starlink,” KJP shut it down: “On the Twitter purchase, that’s something that we would not comment from here. We do not comment on transactions.”

The refusal to comment on the Twitter acquisition contrasted with Biden’s statement days earlier suggesting Musk’s business dealings were “worth being looked at” — a remark that drew criticism for appearing to threaten regulatory action against a political critic. KJP’s “we do not comment on transactions” was a retreat from Biden’s own words.

The Debt Ceiling in Context

The debt ceiling debate was a perennial feature of Washington politics that both parties exploited when convenient. The statutory limit on federal borrowing had been raised or suspended more than 80 times since 1960, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The threat of default — and the associated economic disruption — had been used as leverage by both parties to extract concessions.

Republicans were telegraphing that a post-midterm House majority would use the debt ceiling to demand spending cuts — a strategy similar to what they employed in 2011 and 2013 under Obama. The White House’s preemptive characterization of this as “reckless” and “catastrophic” was designed to position any future Republican demands as economic terrorism rather than legitimate fiscal negotiations.

The irony was that the spending Biden had signed into law — trillions in new outlays — was a primary driver of the need for additional borrowing. The debt ceiling became an issue precisely because federal spending exceeded federal revenue by historically large margins. Characterizing efforts to reduce that gap as “crashing the economy” was inverting the relationship between cause and effect.

Key Takeaways

• KJP stammered “it is, it is, it is, you know, it is not, it is a, it is” for 30 seconds before finding her talking points on the debt ceiling.
• She called Republican plans to use the debt ceiling for spending leverage “reckless” and “catastrophic” — though Biden himself had voted against raising the ceiling in 2006.
• When asked if Biden agreed with Treasury Secretary Yellen’s suggestion to abolish the debt ceiling, KJP said she hadn’t seen Yellen’s comments.
• She repeated the “stark choice” and “Republicans will crash the economy” argument without specifying which policies would cause a crash.
• KJP refused to comment on Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition despite Biden having said days earlier it was “worth being looked at.”

Transcript Highlights

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

• It is, it is, it is, you know, it is not, it is a, it is, you know, it is reckless. It is playing a reckless game with our economy.
• It would be catastrophic if they were to do that. It would hurt inflation.
• The president has been very clear about not using the debt limit as a political football.
• He’s talked about how Republicans will crash the economy. Don’t take my word for it.
• As it relates to Secretary Yellen’s comments, I would have to see them in full.
• On the Twitter purchase, we would not comment from here. We do not comment on transactions.

Full transcript: 725 words transcribed via Whisper AI.