Fox News said that out Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gave a nonsensical answer to a Fox reporter, so they weren’t going to even show what she had to say. But what she said made sense… and contradicted Fox’s narrative about gas prices going into the midterm elections.
At yesterday’s White House press briefing, Fox News’s Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about oil companies, which are making record profits as gas prices are high.
“What makes you think that they are going to listen to an administration that is ultimately trying to put them out of business?” Doocy asked.
“How is the administration trying to put them out of business?” Jean-Pierre replied.
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“Well, they produce fossil fuels, and this president says he wants to end fossil fuel,” Doocy responded.
At the briefing, that’s when Jean-Pierre gave her full answer. But on Fox News, that’s exactly where they cut off the clip.
“We wanted to show you the rest of her answer but she didn’t make any sense,” Fox host Jesse Watters said.
While Fox News may not have faith that its audience could comprehend her answer, LGBTQ Nation trusts its readers a bit more.
First, Jean-Pierre pointed out that U.S. oil production is “up and on track to reach a record high next year.”
“We’ve seen that from their- from when we see their profit margins,” she continued, adding that they’re at a “record high.”
“And so, in fact, the United States has produced more oil in President Biden’s first year than under Trump’s administration’s first year,” she continued. “But at the same time, oil companies are raking in record profits while more than 9,000 approved drilling permits remain untapped by the oil industry.”
“There is no shortage of opportunity or incentive for all companies to ramp up production. This is something that they can actually do.”
On Twitter, Media Matters’ Kat Abu put the video clips together.
Jesse Watters: "We wanted to show you the rest of her answer but she didn't make any sense."
Here's the rest of Karine Jean-Pierre's response that Fox News doesn't want its viewers to see: pic.twitter.com/MVXZJf0r2J
— Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) October 19, 2022
Her statement contradicts Fox’s coverage of gas prices, which has tried to pin the blame for rising gas prices on the Biden administration and “Biden and Pelosi’s far-left socialist agenda,” as one article on Fox’s site put it earlier this month. Fox has regularly said that Biden enraged oil industry executives with his opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, which they also blame for high gas prices. Other commentators on Fox have said – similar to what Doocy implied at the press briefing – that the left actually wants to increase gas prices to force people to use greener energy.
On Twitter, people criticized Fox News for its attack on Jean-Pierre.
If it actually made no sense, they’d be playing it on a loop.
— Big Daddy (@TennantRon) October 19, 2022
Interferes with the narrative. Can't have people watching Fox finding out oil and gas companies aren't producing as much as they possibly can while raking in historical profits.
— DonP – An Old Pug lovin' Lib (@good2go1) October 20, 2022
"Didn't make any sense" = "Totally fucks up our warped narrative"
— John C. Ryan 🌊 (@johncryan) October 19, 2022
So it didn't make sense because it did not match the message Fox wanted to convey. Figures.
— Thomas Fischer (@FischerThomasC) October 20, 2022
For a station that loves to invoke Orwell and 1984, they sure lots of Orwellian propaganda techniques.
— Rowannicus (@rowannicus) October 20, 2022
"And we know you aren't curious enough to check it out yourselves."
— Hyper annoyed (@Hyperannoyed) October 19, 2022
