Robert GrahamWhite House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say Wednesday that Washington, DC, is safe for Americans to visit.
Jean-Pierre evaded a question from a reporter who asked: “In DC, homicides are up. Crime is up. Carjacking is spiking. Simple question: does the president believe the nation’s capital is safe for Americans from across the country to come and visit.
I mean, look …” Jean-Pierre began.
“All violent crime, anywhere, is completely unacceptable, not just here in D.C.,” she continued, saying she did not want to “get into politics.”
“The president is wanting to make sure that communities feel safe, and we’re not seeing that from congressional Republicans, we’re just not. They continue to get in the way,” she said.
Few of America’s major cities, which are experiencing a surge in crime, are governed by Republicans — least of all D.C.
The question came after Jean-Pierre was asked to react to the shooting Wednesday of three D.C. Metro police officers who were wounded while trying to serve a warrant for an arrest for animal cruelty.
Jean-Pierre did not mention the shooting in a press conference that lasted an hour, and had actually left the podium — until a shouted question from a reporter prompted her to return and deliver a comment.
