During Monday’s White House press conference, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about NBC’s hiring of former RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel — and KJP went right to one of her greatest hits.
…hiring Ronna McDaniel is an attack on our democracy!
“What do you make of the network hiring somebody who participated in a phone call pressuring Michigan election officials not to certify certain votes?” CNN’s MJ Lee asked.
“So look, we’re always very mindful about personnel decisions and this instance, made by a media organization,” Jean-Pierre replied. “I’ll say a couple of things, and I’ll quote that president in a second. So you all heard him at the Grid Iron dinner very recently, about two weekends ago. He spoke directly about the critical role that journalists play, and they have in protecting our democracy by making sure that the public knows the truth. That the public knows the facts. And what he said is, ‘we need you. Democracy is at risk. And the American people need to know, in fractured times — they need a context and a perspective. They need substance to match the enormity of the task.’ It is a big task that journalists have, and we understand that.”
“And the facts and the truth are critical here. I’m not gonna make any comments on that person — on a personnel decision, but as more broadly speaking, it is important. It is a burden on all of us here, right, to be really mindful about that and that the public understands what the facts are and what the truth is,” she continued.
Lee pushed for more from KJP.
“Look, I’ll answer it this way. We saw what happened on January 6. We saw what happened when 2,000 people, a mob, went to the Capitol and undermined our democracy, attacked our democracy, because they didn’t believe in free and fair elections,” the press secretary continued. “And so we understand, and we saw that. And some of you may have been there — many of you reported it — and, it was an attack on our democracy. And it is important that we are very clear to the public about the facts, that we are very clear to the public about the truth and we understand the burden that you all have. And so, I just want to be super mindful —not commenting on a personnel decision — but more broadly speaking, that is where we are. That is where we are as a country.”
Watch the clip below:
KJP on NBC hiring Ronna McDaniel: [Jan. 6 was] "an attack on our democracy. And it is important that we are very clear to the public about the facts, that we are very clear to the public about the truth and we understand the burden that you all have. And so, I just want to be… pic.twitter.com/7QhzZBtexS
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) March 25, 2024
