US President Joe Biden addressed a dead Republican member of Congress on Wednesday, prompting several questions from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre during the daily briefing.
“Where’s Jackie?” the 79-year-old Democrat asked during a speech dedicated to the fight against obesity and food insecurity. “I want to thank everyone here,” Joe Biden said, noting in particular two other members of Congress, a Republican and a Democrat, who have been involved in these matters. In the process, he seemed to be looking at former House of Representatives member Jackie Walorski, a Republican elected from Indiana who died in a car accident in early August, who was so committed to the fight against malnutrition.
The elected official actively contributed to the preparation of a major summit devoted to the issue, during which Joe Biden spoke on Wednesday.
The White House released a statement after his death in which the US president said he was “shocked and saddened”.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre didn’t actually respond when she was bombarded with questions on Wednesday about whether Joe Biden had forgotten the lawmaker was dead. The spokesman said only that “he thought very strongly of her” when she actively contributed to the event. “I’m not bothered,” he repeated to pressing reporters.
Karine Jean-Pierre added that Joe Biden had already planned to meet the family of the lawmaker who died on Friday, on the occasion of signing a law to pay tribute to his “remarkable” fight against malnutrition.
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