Jean-Pierre: “Here’s the thing, the ‘Associated Press,’ if you look at the ‘Associated Press,’ they are the oldest wire in the press briefing room. And you think about journalists, you think about the reason they’re in the press briefing room, you think about the reason they’re in the pool — it’s called the protective pool, there are 13 members of the pool, I’ll try not to get too wonky here, and their job is to provide unbiased information to the American people, because the American people deserve that. And when the White House press team decides to step in and override the White House Correspondents Association, who they have the job of doing that, then what we’re looking at is state TV.”
BEHAR: “Yeah.”
Jean-Pierre: “What we’re looking at is what Russia is doing. What we’re looking at is what North Korea is doing. And we are doing that. They are attacking the fiber of the freedom of the press. They are destroying it. Because they want to be covered in a friendly way.
HOSTIN: “Yeah.”
Jean-Pierre: “And look, I was in that position for two and a half years. It is an exercise. What we did in the press briefing room, what the president did when he took questions from the press, it is an exercise of a democracy. And we have to remember that when the press briefing room was televised, it’s not just televised here —“
BEHAR: “Yes.”
Jean-Pierre: “— in the United States —“
HOSTIN: “That’s right.”
Jean-Pierre: “— it’s televised globally.”
HOSTIN: “A lot of people don’t know that.”
Jean-Pierre: “And — and, right, people are wondering, other countries are wondering, what is — what — what are we saying as the United States?”
BEHAR: “Mm-hmm.”
Jean-Pierre: “What is it that we want to do? And it is an exercise of democracy. It is the cornerstone of democracy, the freedom of the press, it is the fourth estate. And we are supposed to be leading that as the most powerful country in the world.”