White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stormed out of the press briefing after being humiliated by Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
During Thursday’s press briefing, Jean-Pierre spoke about the efforts made by the Biden administration to free WNBA player Brittney Griner from Russia.
“President Biden keeps his promises, and today he fulfilled a deeply important promise to bring Brittney Griner home to a family that loves her, a team that misses her, and a country that has marveled at her strength and courage,” she said. “Brittney’s safe return home is the product of months and months of painstaking negotiations that were the culmination of extraordinary efforts across the U.S. government.”
That’s when Doocy called out Jean-Pierre for the ridiculousness of the prisoner swap, which involved Griner and notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“They gave up a professional athlete. We gave up a prolific arms dealer who was convicted of trying to kill Americans, who is called the ‘Merchant of Death,’” Doocy pointed out.
According to CNN, Bout is a former Soviet military officer who was charged in U.S. for conspiring to kill Americans and provide support to terrorists.
“Bout, a former Soviet military officer, was serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization,” CNN explained.
Jean-Pierre and Doocy then got into a shouting match, with the press secretary storming out after she couldn’t handle the reporter anymore.
Karine Jean-Pierre just stormed out of the briefing room after losing her patience with a reporter. pic.twitter.com/OXU16xhNQZ
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) December 8, 2022
“Okay. Thanks, everybody. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she walked out of the briefing room.
While many are celebrating Griner’s freedom from Russian hands, some are noting that the Biden administration valued an athlete over a former serviceman, namely former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
Whelan is currently being held in Russia on a 16-year prison sentence after being accused of espionage in 2018. Karine Jean-Pierre said that his charges are fraudulent but were unable to strike a deal for him with the Kremlin.
“I’m glad Brittney is coming home … but what about U.S. Marine vet Paul Whelan? He’s still held by Putin in Russia. For Biden to give Putin a dangerous arms dealer – someone known as the “Merchant of Death” – is weak [and] disgusting. Doing so while leaving Paul behind is unforgivable,” Republican Florida Sen. Rick Scott tweeted.
