Fox News was so scared of Karine Jean-Pierre calling out their hypocrisy that they edited the video

As the right-wing outrage continues over the fact that Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility happened to fall on the same day this year, out White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was forced to give reporters a lesson in how calendars work.

The vitriol has mainly been directed at President Joe Biden, who issued a TDOV proclamation last Friday. But Biden didn’t decide the TDOV and Easter’s coinciding dates; the TDOV always falls on March 31, and Easter’s date changes annually.

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In relation to the drama stirred up by Republicans, a reporter asked Jean-Pierre at yesterday’s White House press briefing, “The White House said that the president wouldn’t abuse his faith for political purposes. Does the president think that’s what Republicans are doing?”

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Jean-Pierre responded, “So surprised by the misinformation that’s been out there around this, and I want to be very clear: Every year for the past several years, on March 31, Transgender Day of Visibility is marked. And, as we know, for folks who understand the calendar and how it works, Easter falls on different Sundays, right? Every year. And this year, it happened to coincide with Transgender Visibility Day. So that is the simple fact.”

She criticized the bevy of misinformation that she said has been “done on purpose.”

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American… It is actually unsurprising that politicians are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful, and dishonest rhetoric. It is dishonest what we have heard the past 24 hours.  It is untrue what we heard over the weekend.”

She then called out Fox for acting like TDOV was intentionally put on March 31 this year as a slight to Chrsitians when they celebrated it in 2021 with a tweet.

“We were, at first, I want to be very clear, confused on the coverage,” she said. “We’re grateful that Fox agrees with President Biden on the importance of recognizing Trans Day of Visibility. And I’ll just quote something that Fox said back in 2021.”

“They tweeted this: ‘Trans Day of Visibility is dedicated to celebrating transgender people. To all the transgender men, women and nonbinary folk, we see you and stand with you,’” Jean-Pierre said.

In response, an X account run by the Republican National Committee accused her of lying but didn’t say what she said that they believed was a lie.

Karine Jean-Pierre says it's "misinformation" that Biden declared Easter Sunday as "Transgender Day of Visibility."

(She's lying) pic.twitter.com/1MrKrGRgzn

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 1, 2024

Fox News then selectively aired clips of Jean-Pierre’s response and notably did not include the moment she pointed out Fox’s 2021 tweet.

These edits are particularly egregious and when you put them side-by-side, they look even worse.

CSPAN feed vs Fox News edits: https://t.co/7D4Ov0nIzZ pic.twitter.com/4LGMI2wGxz

— Kat Abu (@abughazalehkat) April 1, 2024

Right-wingers who have expressed anger over Biden supporting TDOV include former President Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called on the White House “to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only – the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) added, “The Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of Easter — which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Banning sacred truth and tradition—while at the same time proclaiming Easter Sunday as ‘Transgender Day’—is outrageous and abhorrent. The American people are taking note.”

And Caitlin Jenner, a conservative trans woman, wrote that she is “absolutely disgusted that Joe Biden has declared the most Holy of Holy days – a self proclaimed devout Catholic – as Transgender Day of Visibility.”

She added, “The only thing you should be declaring on this day is ‘HE is Risen’.”

Johnson’s tweet included screenshots from two misleading news stories: one accused Biden of “proclaiming” Easter as TDOV, and the other said he banned religious art from the White House’s annual Egg Roll event. In reality, there is a rule that prohibits religious egg designs at the White House event that has been in place since 1978, including during Trump’s tenure.