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White House Press Secretary Decries “Misinformation Done On Purpose” Over Trans Visibility Day, Points Out Fox’s Past Commemoration

Ted Johnson
·2-min read

UPDATED: This past weekend saw a parade of Republican elected officials and conservative commentators blast the White House for recognizing Sunday as the Transgender Day Of Visibility, as it happened to fall this year on the same day as Easter.

That continued into Monday, with radio hosts highlighting the outrage and FoxNews.com devoting its 11th story so far over the flap.

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At today’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called out Fox, noting that “we are at first … confused on their coverage. We are grateful that Fox agrees with President Biden about the importance of recognizing trans day of visibility.”

She then went on to read a tweet that Fox TV, the broadcast network sister division of Fox News, put out in 2021 that noted the Trans Day Of Visibility and read, “To all the transgender men, women and non-binary folx, we see you and stand with you.”

“President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit,” Jean-Pierre said. “That is not what this administration is about. That is not what being a leader is about. And the misinformation out there is just, it’s just, it’s bad.”

Jean-Pierre’s reference to profit was an obvious reference to Donald Trump, who last week posted a video in which he pitched $60 God Bless The USA Bibles. Trump’s campaign went on to blast Biden for his proclamation of March 31 as Trans Day of Visibility, calling it part of a “years-long assault on the Christian faith.” House Speaker Mike Johnson called the same-day events “outrageous and abhorrent.”

But Trans Day Of Visibility is commemorated annually on March 31, as opposed to Easter, which is celebrated on a different Sunday each year. On Sunday, Biden posted a tweet about Trans Day of Visibility, and about Easter, as well as another holiday observed, César E. Chávez Day. He told reporters today that Johnson was “uninformed.”

Jean-Pierre said that there had been “a lot of misinformation done on purpose, and as a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and withholding the dignity and freedoms of every American.”

On Fox News this afternoon, America Reports featured a segment with anchor John Roberts. Juan Williams, senior political analyst, said, “To me, this is social media sensation. You find conspiracy theories, or you find something that could be construed as offensive, and then you use it to drive up your political base and say, ‘Hey, our guys are being offended.'”

The network did show clips of Jean-Pierre’s press briefing comments, but left out her references to Fox’s past support of Trans Day of Visibility.

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