White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made a curious slip after she was asked about Biden’s curious exchange with Barack Obama at Ethel Kennedy’s memorial service.
Robert Kennedy Jr.’s mother, Ethel Kennedy, passed away last week. She was 96.
My mom, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, passed peacefully into Heaven this morning. She was 96. She died in Boston surrounded by many of her nine surviving children and her friends. God gave her 34 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and the energy to give them all the attention they… pic.twitter.com/X6yr1yZ5DK
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) October 10, 2024
Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden attended the service and delivered remarks.
The memorial service was held in Washington DC at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden shared a tense exchange before the memorial service began.
It is unclear what they said.
WATCH:
I found the full exchange between Obama and Biden at Ethel Kennedy’s funeral — a VERY tense conversation 20 days out from the election.
If anyone can read lips, please let me know what they’re saying. It’s probably good. pic.twitter.com/BIZTL61SHT
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) October 16, 2024
On Thursday White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about Biden and Obama’s exchange during a gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Germany.
A professional lip reader told The New York Post Biden told Obama, “She’s not as strong as me,” and Obama replied, “I know…that’s true…we have time.”
Karine Jean-Pierre accidentally slipped and referred to Biden as the former president when asked about his exchange with Obama.
Excerpt from The Daily Mail:
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made an extraordinary gaffe when she was questioned about the now-viral conversation between Joe Biden and Barack Obama at Ethel Kennedy’s funeral.
‘Look, I’ll say this, the president really very much appreciated being there at the funeral of Ethel Kennedy who he saw as someone who is incredible and was an incredible force obviously in her life during her years,’ Jean-Pierre answered.
‘And what he wanted to do was lift up – lift her up and speak to her accomplishment and what she meant to him, not just to him but to her family and to the country,’ the press secretary continued. ‘So he appreciated doing that.’
It was here she fumbled the response calling Biden the ‘former president.’
‘And we have said many times, the president and former President Biden they have a very close relationship,’ Jean-Pierre noted.
‘They’ve had one for a long time, obviously, as he served as his vice president,’ she added.
‘I don’t have anything else to share on that,’ Jean-Pierre added. ‘I have not had this conversation with the president. Obviously we’ve been pretty busy these last few hours on the plane,’ she reiterated.