OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy is giving new White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre the same tough questions he gave to her predecessor Jen Psaki.
The Fox News reporter asked the press secretary about the stock market crashing into bear territory and erasing all of the gains since President Joe Biden entered the White House.
“President Biden once bragged about the stock market hitting ‘record after record after record on my watch.’ How about now?” he said.
“Meaning the stock market?” she responded.
“All the gains from President Biden’s time in office have been wiped out,” the reporter said.
“So, as you know, we are watching — we’re watching closely. We know families are concerned about inflation and the stock market. That is something that the President is — is really aware of. And so, look, we face global challenges. We’ve talked about this. This is — we’re not the only country dealing with what we’re seeing at the moment as it relates to inflation,” the press secretary said before blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“You know, Putin — Putin’s price hike, inflation, coming — coming out of a once-in-a-generation global pandemic — all of those things play a factor.
“And, you know — but the thing — the way that we see this is that the American people are well positioned to face these challenges because of the economic historic gains that we have made under this President — under this President in the last 16 months,” she said.
“Okay. So, as you say that Americans are well positioned to weather this stock market decline, what is the President’s message to somebody who might want to retire but their 401(k) is getting wiped out?” the reporter said.
“So we know — we know that the — that high prices are having a real effect on people’s lives. We get that. And we are incredibly focused on doing everything that we can to make sure that the economy is working for every — American people. But we are coming out of the strongest job market in American history, and that matters. And that — a lot of that is thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which only Democrats voted for that — Republicans did not — and it led to this economic boom — this historic economic boom that we’re seeing with jobs,” the press secretary responded.
“That is — that is — that is not — that is not how we’re seeing the American Rescue Plan.
“Look, the President came in — we have to remember what the President walked into. When he walked into this administration, the economy was at a standstill. Schools were closed. Businesses were shutting down. Twenty million people were on unemployment insurance benefits. That is what he walked into. And he took action. He got the American Rescue Plan done. Democrats — only Democrats voted for it. And it helped turn the economy around, including getting more than 200 million people vaccinated, having a comprehensive vaccination plan that — that was not in place when he walked into the administration,” she said.
Doocy went on to ask the press secretary if President Biden will campaign for president again in 2024.
“He has — first of all, let’s — let’s reset for a second. I cannot talk about elections. I cannot be a political analyst from here or — you know, or the midterms or anything like that, or including 2024,” she said.
“The President, as you know, has been asked that question many times, and he has answered it. His answer has been pretty simple, which is: Yes, he’s running for reelection. I’m — I can’t say more than that,” she said.
But if he wants to be president again he is likely going to need the economy to recover before the 2024 campaign.
