WASHINGTON — Extra idiot you, Karine Jean-Pierre.
The White House press secretary made an April Idiot of herself on Monday, opening her briefing with a lame try at a prank that tricked completely nobody within the press corps.
“So President Biden is scheduled to announce he’s revoking the Hatch Act,” a grinning Jean-Pierre stated confidently as she took the rostrum. “In order a present to all of you, so now I can truly take all of your questions on 2024.”
Jean-Pierre’s effort turned out to be a idiot’s errand, drawing solely groans from reporters within the briefing room.
“No? I assumed you’ll love that?” Jean-Pierre responded earlier than admitting defeat. “All proper. OK. April Fools, April Fools, April Fools – it’s April 1st.”
Irritated by the cutesy try at inside Washington humor, one journalist shot again with a sarcastic “Ha, ha, ha.”
“Thanks,” Jean-Pierre responded. “I assumed that was fairly — I assumed it was fairly slick of me.”
Jean-Pierre and her deputies have lengthy cited the Hatch Act when dodging questions associated to Biden’s marketing campaign path remarks or opinions on his predecessor and sure 2024 challenger, former President Donald Trump.
Deputy press secretary Andrew Bates even declined to reply a query regarding cocaine found at the White House last summer by invoking the Hatch Act, which solely restricts federal workers from utilizing their platform for marketing campaign functions.
“He talked about the Hatch Act as a result of the query was posed to him utilizing Donald Trump,” Jean-Pierre tried to clarify on the time. “So he was attempting to be very conscious … and in order that’s why he stated the Hatch Act.”
Weeks earlier, the independent Office of Special Counsel determined Jean-Pierre had violated the Hatch Act by repeatedly utilizing the phrase “mega-MAGA Republicans” in reference to GOP candidates through the 2022 midterm cycle.
Regardless of the discovering, no additional motion was taken in opposition to Jean-Pierre.
Hatch Act violators might be fined as much as $1,000 and face bans on federal employment, although most punishments typically take the type of unwelcome consideration and embarrassment.