White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre batted down a reporter’s question about President Biden’s age a day after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., froze in front of news cameras.
McConnell, 81, trailed off from his comments at a news conference Wednesday and stared blankly for nearly a minute before he was assisted away from the podium for a rest. He reappeared about 10 minutes later insisting he was fine and finished taking reporters’ questions, but the episode renewed concerns about the advanced age of several members of Congress and the president.
At a press briefing on Thursday, Jean-Pierre was asked what the president can do to “reassure Americans” about the octogenarians in high positions of the U.S. government. She refused to address McConnell’s age or speak about anyone in Congress, but she did come to the 80-year-old Biden’s defense.
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“This is a president who has done historic amount of policies, of changes in this administration that has mattered to the American people. And so that’s what the president’s going to continue to focus on,” Jean-Pierre said.
Jean-Pierre highlighted several of Biden’s bipartisan achievements, including new developments in cancer research, and gave the Biden administration credit for growing GDP and declining inflation.
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“You know, since 2019, the age comment has been out there and what has this president done?” she said. “He beat Republicans in 2020. He beat Republicans in 2022, leading with the message that American people actually cared about, when you think about lowering costs, when you think about getting the economy back on its feet.
“If you look at the work that he’s done, if you look at the historic amount of, you know, changes that he’s been able to make — 13.5 million jobs created under this president. Unemployment at under 4%. Wages are up and inflation is moderating. That’s what we care about — if we are continuing to deliver for the American people in a way that truly, truly matters,” she said.
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Earlier, Jean-Pierre confirmed that the president called McConnell to check in on him after the episode, but she would not say what they discussed.
“I’m not going to get into the medical condition of the Republican leader of the Senate,” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “What I can say is the president respects Sen. McConnell. There’s a lot that they disagree on, but they have found ways to work together to find common ground. And I think that’s important for the American people to see that bipartisanship and how they’ve been able to work together.”