[NYPOST] President Biden thought the late Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) was alive Wednesday because she was "top of mind" for him as he prepares to meet her family Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed to the incredulity of the press corps.The Biden administration’s regular briefing later devolved into chaos as news hounds pressed Jean-Pierre to address the 79-year-old president’s mental health.
Biden made the gaffe earlier Wednesday at a nutrition event in Washington, saying, "Jackie — are you here? Where’s Jackie?" despite the fact that he publicly mourned Walorski’s death in a car crash last month — and even lowered the White House’s flags for two days in her memory.
Jean-Pierre gave almost identical answers when asked about the stunning remark by news hounds from ABC, CNN
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, CBS and the Washington Post.
The questions grew increasingly pointed as the press secretary said nine times that Walorski was simply "top of mind" for Biden — without saying why the president thought she was alive.
Steven Portnoy of CBS News Radio — the third news hound to raise the topic after ABC’s Cecilia Vega and CNN’s Phil Mattingly — asked Jean-Pierre, "Was the president confused? Was something written in the teleprompter that he didn’t recognize?"
"I’m trying to find out what happened here," Portnoy added.