On Wednesday, in a rare question session, President Biden was asked by a Fox News reporter whether reports that the Biden Administration “is planning to pay illegal immigrants who were separated from their families at the border up to $450,000 each, possibly a million dollars per family” are true.
“That is not true…$450,000 per person, is that what you’re saying?…That’s not going to happen,” Biden answered emphatically.
On Thursday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre contradicted Biden’s emphatic statement while also playing semantics to change the focus of Wednesday’s question:
A White House spokeswoman says Biden is "perfectly comfortable" giving cash payments to illegal immigrants for breaking the law. pic.twitter.com/dxDf3rFoyq
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 4, 2021
“The President is perfectly comfortable with the Department of Justice settling with the individuals and families who are currently in litigation with the U.S. government,” Jean-Pierre read from a prepared statement. So, not only are the reports true that his administration is planning to give taxpayer money to people who had no legal right to be in the U.S. in the first place, but Biden was either clueless or playing semantics.
The White House deputy press secretary was most definitely playing semantics. “The DOJ can obviously speak more to that process,” continued Jean-Pierre. “What the President was reacting to was the dollar figure that was mentioned to him yesterday. As press accounts indicate…DOJ made clear to the plaintiffs that the reported figures are higher than anywhere that a settlement can land.” Sorry, Jean-Pierre. He might have been reacting to the dollar amount, but everyone except Biden apparently understands the reporter’s question. And these people wonder why we don’t believe them.
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