Karine Jean-Pierre refuses to say when Biden’s last negative covid test was and says his testing ‘cadence’ hasn’t changed – before source finally tells network he was negative Monday
- Jean-Pierre clashed with reporters who wanted to know when Biden last tested negative
- White House has said he has not had any ‘close contacts’
- She repeatedly cited the ‘cadence’ of his testing, but did not have specific information
- NBC later reported Biden tested negative Monday
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got in some heated clashes with reporters Monday as she refused to provide the date of President Biden’s last covid test and said nothing had changed about his testing ‘cadence.’
The White House has always held back information about the precise nature of Biden’s testing regimen, but Jean-Pierre’s predecessor Jen Psaki on multiple occasions said when Biden’s lsat negative test was when asked.
‘Well, the President has a regular testing cadence determined by his doctor, as we’ve said many times if you were a to be a close contact, as defined by the CDC, because that’s what we follow,’ Jean-Pierre said.
‘We would update his testing cadence accordingly and share that with all with all of you,’ she said.
Cadence: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got in tense exchanges with reporters who wanted to know when President Biden was tested for COVID-19
She cited a policy of ‘transparency,’ and said ‘he has not had a close contact that will change that cadence so it stays as a regular cadence.’
It was an issue of continuing relevance, following the positive test for top covid advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, and a second positive test for HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had also tested negative, and both attended the Summit of the Americas in L.A. with Biden into the weekend.
When a reporter pressed Jean-Pierre, she responded: ‘Regular cadence. That’s what we do. We will share. We will share, per CDC, when he has a close contact, he has not been in close contact. If he were close contact, we will let you know.
NBC’s Peter Alexander pressed her: ‘I’m just confused as in the past, you guys always told us the date of the most recent tests. So why can’t you tell us the date?’
‘I’m telling you, he has a regular cadence. I just don’t have a date to share with you but he does have a regular weekly cadence,’ she responded.
‘I just don’t have a date in front of me,’ she said, promising to be transparent with the result.
After the briefing, NBC reported that Biden tested negative on Monday, citing a ‘source familiar’ with the matter.
Jean-Pierre had stopped short of giving a result at the briefing, but said ‘we would share that’ if he tested positive.
‘He hast not – not that I know. of We we would share that. I think that is something we would share. Because then that would change his testing cadence,’ she said.
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