Press secretary defends Biden dropping out of the presidential race

(The Center Square) – White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended President Joe Biden’s decision to step out of the 2024 presidential race and emphasized that Biden wants to "unite the country" during a press briefing Thursday.

The briefing was held following Biden's address to the nation Wednesday night discussing his decision to not run for reelection.

Biden said he plans to finish out his current term as president during his address, as The Center Square previously reported .

“What the country witnessed last night was historic,” Jean-Pierre said. “We saw the leadership we always see from Joe Biden. We saw a man who, as he has always done, put country first.”

“President Biden will go down in history as one of the nation’s greatest presidents,” Jean-Pierre added.

Jean-Pierre later said she is “proud” to work for Biden.

White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby spoke at the briefing concerning the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington.

Kirby said federal officials would be speaking with Netanyahu about “closing those gaps” to get a hostage deal in place to return hostages from Gaza.

When asked about the violent protests and vandalism that occurred in Washington on Wednesday in light of Netanyahu's visit, Kirby condemned those actions.

“I mean it’s a First Amendment right to peacefully protest,” Kirby said. “We fully support that. We know that there are strong views about what’s going on in Gaza. And some of those views are in opposition to some of the policies that we are pursuing. We get it, that’s Democracy. But when it turns violent and when you burn an American flag and pull it down off a U.S. government site, that’s just absolutely unacceptable."

Netanyahu spoke before a joint session of Congress about uniting Israel and the U.S. during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, as The Center Square previously reported .

When one reporter asked Jean-Pierre about whether Biden would change his mind about not pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, Jean-Pierre quickly shut down the line of questioning.

“It’s still a no,” Jean-Pierre said.

Hunter Biden was convicted of three felonies on illegal gun charges in June, as The Center Square previously reported .

Jean-Pierre repeatedly said during the briefing that Biden intends to “unite” America through his decision to step down from the presidential race.

When asked about the reasoning behind Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential ballot, Jean-Pierre said that it was “not a medical decision.”