White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre appeared to storm out of a local radio interview in North Carolina after the host asked her if President Joe Biden has dementia, according to a clip of an interview shared by the station.
Jean-Pierre joined Mark Garrison from 99.3 WBT, a radio station based in Charlotte, ahead of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign trip to the key battleground state.
During the phone interview, Garrison asked Jean-Pierre if Biden was suffering from dementia. The press secretary replied that the question was “incredibly offensive” and asked Garrison to move onto the next, before seemingly hanging up after a question on the state of the economy, a clip from the interview reveals. (RELATED: Special Counsel Calls Biden ‘Well-Meaning Elderly Man With A Poor Memory’)
“When I told a number of people that I was talking to you today — it was interesting — they all said, ‘Would you please just ask her if the president has dementia?’ So before I move on from that, does he?” Garrison asked.
“Mark, I can’t even believe you’re asking me this question. That is an incredibly offensive question to ask,” Jean-Pierre responded.
“For the past several years, the president’s physician has laid out, in a very comprehensive way, the president’s health,” Jean-Pierre continued. “This is a president that if you watch him everyday, if you really pay attention to his record and what he has done you will see exactly how focused he’s been on the American people, how historic his actions have been. So I am not going to truly, really take the premise of your question. I think it is incredibly offensive. So we can move on to the next question?”
LISTEN: KJP hangs up on a Charlotte, North Carolina radio host after being asked if Joe Biden has dementia and about high gas prices and high grocery prices. pic.twitter.com/eu69qAQhVH
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) March 26, 2024
Garrison complied, asking the press secretary how Biden plans to win votes from Americans who have “disposable income” than they did before he took office.
Jean-Pierre responded that the president grew up in a middle class family and understands how difficult it is for families who are struggling to make ends meet.
“Now you’re asking me about gas prices,” she continued. “The president took actions on gas prices, let’s not forget, Russia’s invasion on Ukraine skyrocketed prices on gas, and because the president took action we are in a different place than we were a year ago on gas prices.”
“Eggs, milk, seafood products, all the important groceries, those prices have gone down because of what this president has been able to do. And with that, thank you so much Mark. Have an amazing, amazing day,” Jean-Pierre concluded, followed by the sound of a dial tone.
The hosts are heard reacting to the clip played on the radio station while Garrison remarks, “And she hung up.”
Concerns about the president’s age have risen following the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents. Though Hur chose not to pursue charges, the report notes that, while being interviewed as part of the investigation, Biden appeared to forget when his vice presidency began and ended and the date of his son’s death.
Hur justified his decision to not pursue charges by suggesting that a jury might see Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The White House criticized the special counsel and his report, characterizing it as “flatly wrong,” “inappropriate” and “politically motivated.”