National Security Council spokesman John Kirby clashed at Monday’s White House press briefing with Al Jazeera reporter Kimberly Halkett on whether President Joe Biden is considering politics while determining the United States’ response to militant attacks on American troops and conflicts in the Middle East.
“Isn’t it time to involve the American people?” Halkett asked. “Given the fact that the American people were not happy about. I mean —”
“I suspect the American people are not happy about attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. I also suspect they’re not happy about seeing American troops killed at a base in Jordan. The president has the authority to defend those troops and those facilities, and he’ll do that,” Kirby responded.
“You said the president is weighing all of his options. This is an election year. Is the president looking at his polling when he’s weighing all of these options?” Halkett pushed back.
“My goodness, that’s a heck of a question,” Kirby shot back incredulously. “The commander-in-chief is not looking at polling or considering the electoral calendar when he’s defending…”
Halkett interrupted, “He’s not looking at how they feel about the war on Gaza?”
“Now can I answer the question?” Kirby asked. “He’s not looking at political calculations, or the polling, or the electoral calendar as he works to protect our troops ashore and our ships at sea — and any suggestion to the contrary is offensive.”
Halkett continued to press Kirby, even asking if the American public will have the opportunity to weigh in on “whether they want ‘made in America’ stamped on the bombs that are going to be dropped.”
“Ma’am, I’ve answered your question,” a visibly annoyed Kirby said to Halkett, while White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre intervened to allow the news conference to return to order.
