White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced questions about President Biden’s reported criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during a press briefing.
The reporter raised concerns about transparency in private meetings with campaign donors.
“There was some reporting this morning that President Biden told some campaign donors that Prime Minister Netanyahu ‘has been a pain in my a– lately’ or ‘he’s been killing me lately,’” one reporter said.
“The reason we don’t know what the exact quote is is because the press was not in that meeting that the president had with these donors. Why is the president not living up to his full transparency pledge in terms of opening all meetings with donors to the press?”
“So I think that … first of all, I want to be careful because these are campaign events. So I just want to be mindful, I can’t speak to each of them or really most of them,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre defended the private nature of these meetings, emphasizing the president’s regular engagement in private discussions.
“I know that, and as you know, when the president does speak in front of … he does do some of these fundraising events, right? When he gives formal remarks, the press pool is in there and they are listening to the remarks and get to hear directly what the president says. So I think that’s also very important,” Jean-Pierre said.
“I don’t want to make it sound like there’s not a process there. But when he is in front of donors giving formal remarks, that you all are not in the room as he’s speaking,” she said.
“He does have private meetings, that is true,” she added. “And when he has those private meetings, those meetings — so that there is candor and that he can hear directly from folks — those tend to be private.”
Biden called Netanyahu a ‘bad f–king guy’ as war in Gaza costs him voters: report https://t.co/MbGtqrtIsd pic.twitter.com/cOxwUti4Du
— New York Post (@nypost) February 4, 2024
“I hear your question, but the president has private meetings all the time. He does. He has private meetings all the time,” she said.
“But these aren’t foreign leaders, these are people who are giving money to him, his campaign,” the reporter said.
“I hear you, but he has private meetings with everyday people. Some of these donors have, and I want to be super mindful here, concerns as well, just like everyday American people that he has private meetings with or that he sees on the road. It’s not every meeting that is going to be public. But when he has remarks at fundraisers, there is formal remarks, the press pool tends to be in the room, or is in the room. Private meetings are different, and so that’s the way it’s been for the past three years in this administration,” Jean-Pierre said.
The press expressed discontent over limited access to events and preselected reporters.
Biden’s unwavering support for Israel amid the conflict with Hamas has drawn criticism from Democratic voters and some White House staff members.
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