The Charlotte radio host, who interviewed White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday and saw the discussion stall after questions about President Biden’s mental competency, told Fox News that her response He said he was shocked.
WBT news director Mark Garrison said Wednesday that the White House contacted him about an interview ahead of Biden’s visit to Raleigh this week.
Former President Trump narrowly defeated Biden in the Tar Heel State in 2020, but the state last gave a Democratic delegate in 2008, when then-Sen. Illinois Democrat Barack Obama won.
Garrison said:Ingraham Angle“Many political interviews stayed to the point and he wanted to go deeper.
“So I thought if I asked her a few questions, maybe I could make a little news and get her side of the story,” he said. “So I decided to ask her about all the concerns here in North Carolina. Even 45% of Democrats are concerned about Biden’s mental state.”
Karine Jean Pierre (Alex Wong/Getty)
Garrison said how Jean-Pierre “dismissed” the question and instead responded by praising Jean-Pierre’s “incredible” State of the Union address.
“And I just said, ‘Okay, well, does he have dementia?'” Garrison added. “And I was surprised that she was so offended.”
During the interview, Jean-Pierre bristled at his question and replied, “Mark, I can’t believe you asked me that question.” She called the question “incredibly insulting.”
After a few more minutes of back-and-forth about other topics, including gas prices, Jean-Pierre concluded by saying, “Thank you very much, Mark, have a wonderful, wonderful day.” Then he heard that tone over the WBT airwaves.
“The Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham read out a statement from the White House in response to Jean-Pierre’s allegations, saying that the press secretary “has conducted multiple consecutive interviews with various radio stations. Each presentation lasted seven minutes,” Jean-Pierre said, abruptly ending Garrison’s interview. The appointed time had passed, so she was called for the next interview so that everyone could be there full time. ”
The statement claimed that WBT “chose not to broadcast the full interview and instead artificially added a sound effect that does not play when the call ends.”
Garrison denied that WBT added the dial tone in post-production, instead telling “The Ingraham Angle” that he was offended by the suggestion.
“We don’t add sound effects to news stories. When she hit the hang up button, you heard the dial tone. We don’t add any drama to it,” he said.
Garrison also pointed to the controversy surrounding dementia, saying North Carolinians are interested in the president’s acumen and that Jean-Pierre could have responded with some defense of Biden’s abilities. Stated.
“But what she actually did was take us out on a bumpy dirt road, because she went on to say, ‘Well, every year the White House physician We will examine the patient and issue a detailed report,” he said.
Garrison said he reviewed the doctor’s report and did not think Biden’s mental acuity was addressed positively or negatively.
