On Tuesday’s (July 23) edition of The View, cohosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin welcomed a very special guest: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who has, for weeks, been at the center of a firestorm of media inquiries about President Joe Biden‘s fitness to run in the 2024 campaign.
Jean-Pierre had not previously spoken publicly about Biden’s decision to drop out and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, but she seemingly spoke on behalf of many in the Biden administration with her thoughts.
“So look, this has been an interesting couple of weeks. What has always been the case is it’s always been a privilege and an honor for me to represent this president of the United States and be the White House press secretary for this president. And at the end of the day, when you think about what he has done the last four years, when you think about who he has been, as a human, as a person, he — by the time we’re done, by the time we went through the finish line, at the end of January, he would have done more than most presidents have done in eight years,” she said. “What we saw from this president the last couple of days was human decency, a good man, someone who decided to put himself first, like we’ve seen before, but to put the American people first, and this country first.”
White House @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre exclusively to #TheView: “What we saw from [Pres. Biden] the last couple of days was a human decency, a good man, someone who decided not to put himself first, like we’ve seen before, but to put the American people first.” pic.twitter.com/wunvdHCy1i— The View (@TheView) July 23, 2024
Jean-Pierre then outlined some of the Biden administration’s biggest challenges — “a once-in-a-century pandemic,” “recharg[ing] the economy” — and achievements — “This economy is leading the world. I mean, this is something — wages are up, jobs have been created, millions of jobs created. Unemployment is low. We’re trying to continue to lower costs, lowering prescription drugs… This is a president who’s able to walk across the aisle and get things done. You think about the infrastructure legislation, the science act, the veterans legislation, we hadn’t seen that in decades, and this president got it done.”
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She then admitted that she was a bit “emotional” while talking about Biden’s career in public service but promised that he’s not quite done just yet.
“This president was a public servant of 54 years. We’re not done yet. Obviously, he stepped down from running and being the nominee, but he’s very much still the president. He still has the job, and we have a lot more to get done on behalf of the American people,” Jean-Pierre said. “He wants to zero in and focus on that. He’s going to be coming back to the White House today. He’s going to be giving an address tomorrow at 8 o’clock. Please watch. He wants to talk directly to all of you, to the American people, to talk about what’s next. And so I know he’s looking forward to doing that, so please tune in tomorrow.”
She also pointed audiences to Biden’s own written words about his decision to step down from the campaign and said there was “no spin” to his rationale, adding, “He truly believed it was the right thing to do at this moment. He truly believed that it was the right thing to do for this country… He said the reason why he picked Vice President Kamala Harris is because he believed that she would be ready…. He believed she was the right person to take over the campaign, and she is.”
Still, Jean-Pierre admitted that she and other staffers are having a “hard” time with Biden’s decision, she still wanted to extol the president’s virtues, as she sees them, by appearing on the show: “I came on the show, I wanted to share my thoughts as the White House press secretary, is this person who has been speaking for him the last couple of years, but also to lift up what we have been able to do,” she explained. “I feel seen, and I know many people that I work with feel seen because of this president and his leadership and all the great stuff he’s doing.”
After a commercial break, Jean-Pierre was asked by Griffin to respond to GOP veep hopeful J.D. Vance’s call for Biden to step down from the Oval Office, and she said, forcefully, “I think that’s ridiculous, seriously.”
White House @PressSec Karine Jean-Pierre exclusively to #TheView: “[Pres. Biden is] very much still the president. He still has the job.”“We have a lot more to get done on behalf of the American people.” pic.twitter.com/PcQnDH2d5U— The View (@TheView) July 23, 2024
“The President decided to not look for reelection. That’s it,” she insisted, “That’s all he decided on. He wants to continue to do the work three and a half years of unprecedented, historic work. I think that shows what he’s capable of doing. I think that shows how important his leadership is.”
The View, weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC
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