WH press secretary Karine Jean Pierre laughs off questions about digitally altered photos

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was going about her business yesterday, doing the daily press briefing, when she got an unexpected question from a member of the White House press corps. Interestingly enough, the journalist was an American, not a Brit. The journo asked if the Biden White House digitally altered photos before releasing them to the public. She was unamused with the question:

CBS News’ @edokeefe: “Does the White House ever digitally alter photos of the president, VP, first lady, or second gentleman before they’re released?”

WH Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre: “Why does the monarch have to do anything with us? No, that is not something that we do here.” pic.twitter.com/HgewN4TPNV

— The Recount (@therecount) March 12, 2024

This is getting a surprising amount of coverage in both the British and American media, and it was one of the leading stories in the Mail yesterday too:

The White House said it ‘does not alter photos’ of President Joe Biden or any officials in its first comments on the Kate Middleton Mother’s Day Photoshop fail.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the top spokesperson for the administration, was asked if the White House ever digitally altered photos of officials before releasing them to the public.

‘Are you comparing us to the what’s going on in the UK?,’ she asked before adding: ‘What does the monarchy have to do anything with us? No, that is not something that we do here.’

Kensington Palace’s release of the photo and subsequent apology from the Princess of Wales caused a stir in the UK, trended on social media around the world, and led to a slew of conspiracy theories.

Jean-Pierre did say the White House offered Kate a ‘speedy recovery’ from her abdominal surgery. ‘We will offer speedy recovery and I’m just gonna leave it there. I don’t have anything else to share,’ Jean-Pierre said.

[From The Daily Mail]

What’s funny is that last year, Buckingham Palace and the Tory press joined forces to scream, cry and throw up about President Biden and his refusal to attend King Charles’s coronation. The palace was absolutely part of it, with courtiers openly calling Biden an ancient old geezer who was too weak to travel to the Chubbly… meanwhile, Irish Joe got a rock star reception when he visited Ireland just before the coronation. I guess my point is, as always, f–k around and find out. Now that the British monarchy’s Photoshop shenanigans have made them a global laughing stock, they could have used some cover from the Biden White House. No cover was given.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Kensington Palace.

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