CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Biden’s White House economic adviser Brian Deese on Tuesday about the baby formula crisis, when suddenly, the CNN camera filming Deese clattered to the ground.
“Brian, why didn’t anyone tell the president?” Tapper asked the adviser.
Deese repeated the White House line that Press Secretary Jean-Pierre said earlier: once the president was informed, he told his admin to use “all available tools we had” to tackle the issue.
Tapper dug into the weak response, “I guess I still just don’t fully understand why you didn’t tell the president until April if the problem was reported to the FDA last fall, the FDA didn’t check it out until I think December, and then they shut down the factory in February. The president, the only one who can invoke the Defense Production Act to force companies to produce this incredibly direly needed infant formula, he’s not told until April.”
“Karine Jean-Pierre, your press secretary, said this has been a whole of government approach. That doesn’t include the president?” Tapper concluded.
Deese retorts back to the CNN host that the FDA is investigating what happened and Biden’s entire administration is now working to tackle the crisis.
“I don’t need the FDA to investigate itself to come to the judgment that they did not act quickly enough, and on behalf of all the frustrated moms and dads and guardians out there, I hope you don’t either,” Tapper said.
Right after barb from Tapper, CNN’s camera fell over.
“Whoa, whoa!” Deese yells in the background before they cut away from him.
Deese previously mentioned that the Biden administration knew about the crisis In a statement aired on CNN. At the time, he said, “We were aware … back in February” of the baby formula shortage, “and we have had a team on this from the FDA and interagency process since then.”
Biden Caught Off Guard By Reporter’s Question On The Baby Formula Crisis
Next News Network reported Wednesday about Biden’s admission that he did know how bad the baby formula shortage was until April. A reporter corrected him at the time. She mentioned how in a meeting Biden had before his press conference that company executives for formula producers said that knew it would be a problem in February.
Jean-Pierre also suggested that the administration tried to solve the baby formula crisis before making Biden aware of it.
Back to CNN. Which falls faster: CNN’s cameras or their ratings?
