White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was asked at a press conference for his opinion regarding President-elect Donald Trump choosing MAGA adherent and former Senatorial candidate Kari Lake as the new Director of Voice of America (VOA), the federally-funded news service that is broadcast worldwide and mandated to be “unbiased and nonpartisan.”
Kirby was asked by a journalist, “Do you think he has the authority to name a new director?”
Kirby, a former Pentagon Press Secretary and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, replied and admitted: “I don’t understand enough about the process there to really weigh in on that.”
John Kirby seemed rattled when asked about my appointment to the Voice of America.
This guy is supposed to be a professional communicator?
The messaging coming out of the Biden administration has been incoherent and insulting.
That’s about to change. pic.twitter.com/6JRs6R9nNb
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) December 13, 2024
The persistent journalist asked for a “general reaction,” and Kirby hesitantly replied, “I’m just not going to get into casting judgments on names that the President-elect is putting forward for various jobs. That is for him and his team to speak to.”
Kirby added that personally he has “great respect for Voice of America” and believes their “editorial independence is absolutely vital.”
Kari Lake replied to the press conference with vitriol and wrote: “John Kirby seemed rattled when asked about my appointment to the Voice of America. This guy is supposed to be a professional communicator? The messaging coming out of the Biden administration has been incoherent and insulting. That’s about to change.”
