President Joe Biden’s quip about “the real governor” of Virginia is not simply fading away.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary, “Is election denying a joke now?”
“What do you mean? You have to say more than just make a random statement,” she responded.
Doocy asked, “Why did the President say, ‘hello Virginia and the real governor, Terry McAuliffe’?”
The press secretary insisted Biden was trying to make a joke.
“I mean, if you play it back, it’s clearly that the president was making a joke,” she claimed.
When asked what the joke was, Jean-Pierre said, “He was making a joke about McAuliffe’s previous term as governor.”
Watch the video below:
Doocy: “Is election denying a joke now?”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 24, 2024
KJP: “What do you mean? You have to say more than just to make a random statement.”
[REPORTERS LAUGH]
Doocy: “Why did the President say, ‘hello Virginia and the real governor, Terry McAuliffe’”?
KJP: “He was making a joke about Terry… pic.twitter.com/OsyhMARaj4
The exchange came after Biden was criticized on Tuesday for appearing referring to former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) as “the real governor.”
McAuliffe left office in 2018 and lost his election bid to be governor again in 2021 to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). And several commentators suggested it was inappropriate for Biden to appear to be making fun of doubting election results after he has warned about doing so.
Doocy then asked, “How are guys going to convince people, though, that this idea of denying election results is very bad if President Biden is going out…”
Doocy: “How are guys going to convince people, though, that this idea of denying election results is very bad if President Biden is going out —”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 24, 2024
KJP: “How is he —”
Doocy: “— and making jokes like this?”
KJP: “— okay. He did not deny. He did not deny it. He congratulated… pic.twitter.com/vfJPCxrkLc
However, Jean-Pierre insisted the president was not denying Youngkin’s election win and noted the administration has worked with the governor.
“This is a president that works across the aisle. We’ve seen that many times, and he was making a joke,” she insisted.