While golfing yesterday at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, former President Donald Trump hit Governor Ron DeSantis.
During a White House briefing, NBC News White House correspondent Mike Memoli asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about a phone call between Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and former President Donald Trump, which took place while debt limit negotiations were ongoing. Memoli inquired if this call indicated a lack of good faith in the negotiations.
Trump had mentioned the call during a conversation with a reporter at a golf course, stating that the debt talks would be more challenging than anticipated due to what he perceived as wasteful spending over the past three years. Memoli brought up this interaction and asked for the White House’s reaction to McCarthy speaking with the former President while negotiations were underway with the current President.
Jean-Pierre cautiously responded, acknowledging McCarthy’s right to speak with whomever he chooses. She avoided diving into the specifics of the conversation, highlighting instead that McCarthy had publicly stated that default was off the table. She emphasized that productive conversations and negotiations were ongoing, with the two teams having met virtually earlier in the day.
The press secretary reiterated the administration’s belief in finding a bipartisan and reasonable budget agreement, acknowledging that compromises would be necessary for both sides. She stressed that the focus should be on meeting the needs of the American people and families. When Memoli probed further, asking if McCarthy’s conversation with the former President indicated bad faith, Jean-Pierre sidestepped the question, stating she couldn’t speak to the details of the conversation and could only address the statements made directly by the Speaker and his team.
MIKE MEMOLI: The former President is in the area. He was spotted on —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Which one?
MIKE MEMOLI: Former President Trump.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay. There’s a few formers out there —
MIKE MEMOLI: Yes, there are.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: — so you have be clear.
MIKE MEMOLI: He was spotted across the river at the LIV Golf Tournament that’s coming up this weekend here in the area. And a reporter from the New York Times covering the tournament spoke with him, and the former President showed, in fact, that he had recently spoken with Speaker McCarthy, said that they had a “little, quick talk,” and he predicted that the debt talks were going to be — getting a deal would be harder than people were expecting.
I wonder if the White House has a reaction to the fact that the current Speaker is speaking to the former President at the time his team is talking to the current President.
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So, look, the Speaker is allowed to speak to whoever he chooses and wants to speak to. So I’m not going to, certainly, dive into that or step in — step on that.
What I can speak to is what the Speaker has said very publicly himself just this week: that default is off the table.
We are continuing to have productive conversations. Negotiations continue.
Again, I just mentioned how the — the two teams met this morning virtually at 11:30. That is a good sign. That is a good sign that those talks are certainly continuing.
And, look, we have said we think there’s a path forward. There’s a path forward to a bipartisan, reasonable budget agreement. And — and as long as both sides understand that no one is going to get everything that it wants, then we can get there. We can get there.
This is about the American people. This is about American families, making sure that we are meeting their needs. And that — that should be the focus.
MIKE MEMOLI: So, that’s not an indication of bad faith if the Speaker is either receiving —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, all I —
MIKE MEMOLI: — or placing a call —
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I mean —
MIKE MEMOLI: — to the former President?
MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I can’t — I don’t know what the Speaker said to the former President. I cannot speak to that. You would have to speak — ask the Speaker directly.
What I can speak to is what we heard from — direct from the Speaker directly and what his team — what his team is doing. It is co- — we’re continuing to have these good-faith conversations. That’s what’s important. The negotiations continue. And so I think that’s what’s important here.
I — I cannot speak to a conversation — a hearsay conversation that is occurring — that occurred. I just can’t speak to that.
Jean-Pierre maintained that the negotiations were based on good faith and continued to emphasize the importance of ongoing discussions. She refrained from commenting on the alleged conversation between McCarthy and Trump, explaining that she couldn’t speak to hearsay or secondhand information.
In this exchange, Jean-Pierre walked a delicate line, striving to convey the urgency of the negotiations while maintaining a neutral stance regarding McCarthy’s communication with Trump. The focus remained on the need for bipartisan cooperation and reaching an agreement that serves the interests of the American people.
