Republican criticizes Jill Biden for blocking Joe from reporters

Former Republican Rep. Doug Collins criticized First Lady Jill Biden Friday morning for stepping between her husband, President Joe Biden, and reporters asking questions about the classified documents debacle.

“This has become really concerning because nobody, frankly, in fairness to the first lady, nobody chose her to answer questions for the president on issues that the press may have questioned,” Collins said. said on Fox & Friends.

The Bidens hosted a Lunar New Year event in the East Room on Thursday night, and when they left they ignored a slew of questions about the discovery of classified documents, including whether the president would give the go-ahead for a search of the Rehoboth Beach home.

Previously, Dr. Biden crosses the president’s podium to mark the conclusion of a dragon dance performance.

“Are you going to dance?” the president asked the first lady as the group finished their performance and there was an awkward pause.

“No, you’re coming up. … Come on Joe! No, you’re not going to dance,” Dr. Biden replied, as the president teased that he might. “Believe me, you don’t want to ruin the evening,” the first lady added.

The president praised the White House hosting the “first Lunar New Year reception of this magnitude” during the Thursday night affair and added that he had received California Representative Judy Chu’s blessing to hold the joyful event — in the wake of two mass shootings that occurred in Asian-American communities.

“I spoke to Judy a few days ago. I said, “Judy, what should I do? Should I continue – should I be in California or should I still have this party?” And she felt very strong,” the president said. “She said we had to move on. Her message was: Don’t give in to fear and sadness. Do not do that. Be solidarity and have a strong spirit, that’s what this holiday is all about.’

Across the country, Lunar New Year celebrations have been marked with sadness after a gunman killed 11 people in Monterey Park, California at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, after an all-day New Year’s Eve party was held on an adjacent street on Saturday.

Chu represents Monterey Park in the house.

The gunman, identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, then tried to kill more people at the nearby Lai Lai Ballroom, but a worker chased him away.

Biden said he called 26-year-old Brandon Tsay, who ended the rampage.

The president noted that Tsay had “followed his courage.”

“It’s pretty profound,” Biden noted.

The gunman was found dead in his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The incident, while not racially motivated, raised security across the country during Lunar New Year celebrations – as anti-Asian sentiment has risen since the advent of the coronavirus pandemic.

The president acknowledged the increase in hate crimes against Asian-Americans during the event.

“Silence is complicity,” he told the East Room crowd.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who represented California in the U.S. Senate, extended her condolences to relatives in Monterey Park on Wednesday.

Biden noted that Harris has “deep ties to the area” and just got back.

In addition, another gunman identified as Chunli Zhao, 66, opened fire on two farms in the heavily Asian-American community on Monday.

The President and First Lady held a minute’s silence for the victims.

Then they turned to the spicier part of the program

“Jill and I are honored to welcome you to the first Lunar New Year reception of this magnitude at the White House, your home,” the president said, adding, “Jill and I are very temporary residents of this home.”

An onlooker yelled back, “Not too temporary.”

“God love you,” the president replied.

He noted that in many Asian cultures it is the year of the rabbit, but in Vietnam it is the year of the cat.

“That sounds like our cat Willow, by the way,” the president remarked. “Willow will be coming in here any minute. She knows no boundaries. You think I’m joking – I’m not. Especially in the middle of the night when she climbs up and lays on top of my head.’

He also applauded the movie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, with its mostly Asian cast, walked away with 11 Academy Award nominations.

And as he announced it was time to celebrate, he interrupted himself and told the crowd, “No firecrackers tonight.”

‘No, I am serious. I was thinking about that, you know? If things had not been as they have been in recent years, we would have had to set off fireworks outside,” Biden said. “Celebrate with fireworks and dance – we have dance.”

The White House had the Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe perform a dragon dance for several minutes as the president marveled from the front row.