White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre blasted right-wing claims that women were not qualified for Secret Service work following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
At Monday's White House briefing, Jean-Pierre was asked about right-wing figures who blamed the shooting on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
"There's been a lot of right-wing chatter about the female agents guarding the former President, specifically whether women are up to the job," a reporter told the press secretary. "People are noting that they're smaller, that they weren't able to cover the President, but, I mean, this is a talking point that is circulating."
"That's ridiculous," Jean-Pierre asserted. "I understand why you're asking the question. The sentiments coming from that about women and not being able to do the job, that's ridiculous."
"These men and women put their lives on the line," she continued. "What they're doing is brave. And we should not discount that. We should not discount that, if it's a man or if it's a woman. And to have that sentiment out there is unfair, and it's ridiculous."
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Jean-Pierre noted that President Joe Biden had ordered an independent review following the shooting.
"And so getting into these types of speculation is just ridiculous," she said.
On Sunday, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told Fox News that a "DEI initiative person" at the Secret Service was to blame for not protecting Trump.
Watch the video below or at this link.
Karine Jean-Pierre rips right-wing smear on women Secret Service agentswww.youtube.com
