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ElectionLine’s View From Abroad: Former White House Foreign Press Group Chief Kéthévane Gorjestani Says Biden’s Media Handlers Must “Let Joe Be Joe” If He’s Going To Beat Trump
Deadline ^ | May 13, 2024 | Jake Kanter

Posted on 03/13/2024 7:09:51 PM PDT by DoodleBob

Kéthévane Gorjestani spent time as president of the White House Foreign Press Group, meaning she helped spearhead efforts to get more access to Joe Biden. While Trump was at the White House press podium “all the time,” Gorjestani says there was a feeling among the media corps that Biden’s handlers were more reluctant to engage. The France 24 journalist thinks this has been to Biden’s detriment.

Gorjestani argues that the president’s blunders or moments of brain fog appear worse when he is on-script. “Let Joe be Joe,” she says, turning to a phrase she has heard in Washington D.C.

Gorjestani explains: “At least part of his team is trying to shield him from making a mistake or saying something that makes news that they don’t want him to say. But there’s also a wide agreement among reporters that Joe Biden is never as good as when he’s off the cuff. It comes with its risks, but all leaders have these risks when they sit down for interviews or press conferences.”

The risks and rewards have been evident in recent weeks. On the downside, it gave America the bizarre spectacle of Biden outlining a timeline for a Gaza cease-fire while clutching an ice cream. The Let Joe Be Joe strategy also helped Biden to a sparky display on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

“You look at the State of the Union, all the unscripted moments where he’s responding to heckling from the Republicans, that is the best response to the criticism or the concerns about his age,” Gorjestani adds. “He’s more than capable to engage with antagonistic calls and questions — and he’s good at it.”

Gorjestani was born in Washington D.C. and is a French-American, though she was originally from Georgia. She has been presenting on the French state-backed news network France 24 since 2010, spending four years as a correspondent in Washington. Gorjestani recently moved back to Paris, where she now serves as France 24’s foreign affairs correspondent, but she keeps a close eye on the White House.

France 24 has an English language service that broadcasts in the U.S. and, unlike its American counterparts, Gorjestani says it has a duty to impartiality, with an emphasis on spotlighting facts and analysis over opinion. American news junkies tell her that France 24 is a channel of choice because they are “tired of the pundits.” A similar argument was put forward by the BBC’s Justin Webb in a separate View From Abroad column for ElectionLine.

Gorjestani says the French are somewhat bemused by the U.S. election. “How is it possible that a country like the United States cannot come up with a better choice than two old guys that nobody wants,” she says, surmising the mood among her fellow nationals.

She has little doubt that Emmanuel Macron would prefer a Biden second term over the return of Trump, even if he forged a viral bromance with the latter. Remember the white-knuckle handshakes the pair shared during their encounters? Gorjestani says this was Macron mixing pragmatism with politics. “European leaders understand that if you get on Trump’s bad side, you’re not going to get anything good out of it for your country,” she adds.

Gorjestani believes there will be genuine jitters at the Élysée Palace over Trump’s threats to ditch NATO, but suspects that there are many MAGA sympathizers in France, not least because of the continued support for far-right politician Marine Le Pen.

For all Trump’s America-first bravado, Gorjestani says foreign journalists were treated well by his White House. “The administration was very much willing to speak to reporters, including foreign reporters. We were probably treated better than the so-called ‘lamestream media,’ because we were not seen to be taking sides,” she adds.

The Trump of 2024 is producing different challenges, not least because people have become inured to his caustic brand of rhetoric, Gorjestani says. “No one has yet figured out the exact remedy or mathematical recipe for how much airtime, how much analysis, how much context [to afford Trump],” she explains.

Trump may be more willing to engage than Biden, but his freewheeling polemics present problems of their own.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; France; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: donatefreerepublic; noticeme; potus2024
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Oh PLEAAEE PLEASEE PLEASE let Bidet be himself, no script, no handlers.

Listen to the French, dear DNC. There never let you down.

1 posted on 03/13/2024 7:09:51 PM PDT by DoodleBob
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I can't get enough of this gif...so many layers...


2 posted on 03/13/2024 7:11:20 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: DoodleBob

They’ve been letting President Retard be a perverted idiot for years and years


3 posted on 03/13/2024 7:11:46 PM PDT by NWFree (Sigma male 🤪)
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To: DoodleBob
Media Handlers Must “Let Joe Be Joe” If He’s Going To Beat Trump

Terrific advice right there.

4 posted on 03/13/2024 7:14:47 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: DoodleBob
That is the one thing they absolutely cannot do if they want him to win. So, of course I'm all for it.😁

CC

5 posted on 03/13/2024 7:18:14 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (My cats are more amusing than 200 channels worth of TV.)
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To: DoodleBob

If they actually did this, it would be a repeat of SloJo hiding in the basement. The only reason he and his handlers felt confident with SloJo out of sight was because they had already arranged to steal the election.

If anyone actually wants to talk with me about the voter fraud, I urge them to find and watch a certain video. Instead of just showing them the video I am about to describe, I tell them that if they are truly interested in the truth, that they themselves should make the effort to find it.

It is the video of the ballot counting where they kicked everyone out, and then used the large containers of ballots that were already UNDER THE BALLOT COUNTING TABLES. if they had known there was a camera, they probably would have disconnected it.


6 posted on 03/13/2024 7:22:32 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus III (Do, or do not, there is no try)
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To: DoodleBob

NY Post 2 days ago

Biden asked permission from his staff if he could answer questions from the press Monday, fueling further speculation the 81-year-old incumbent has instructions about what he can say. “Am I allowed to take any questions?”


So now, let ‘er rip.
“Mr.President can you tell us the full, unabdridged story of facing down CornPop?”

“If you and Hunter had a good deal going with money for favors would you fib about it or are you so strong now you can just tell anyone the whole story and you don’t have to care what they think. You ARE the President.”

“If you had the choice of meeting at a summit with Xi or judging a national little girls’ fashion beauty contest which would you choose?”


7 posted on 03/13/2024 7:24:53 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls.)
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To: DoodleBob

Please let Joe be Joe.

I beg you.


8 posted on 03/13/2024 7:25:10 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thing about censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: DoodleBob

The crook with the crooked smile. Ugggggggly lying w***!


9 posted on 03/13/2024 7:33:18 PM PDT by TribalPrincess2U (Bye done!)
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To: DoodleBob

“Let Joe be Joe” or “let Joe be juiced”?

One of these times the juicing is going to cause a fatal OD.


10 posted on 03/13/2024 7:34:43 PM PDT by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: DoodleBob

My sentiments exactly. Let Joe be Joe, buy popcorn and watch. It could be spectacular.


11 posted on 03/13/2024 7:37:09 PM PDT by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative. )
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To: DoodleBob

“Joe Biden is never as good as when he’s off the cuff”

This is inconsistent with having true dementia.


12 posted on 03/13/2024 7:38:53 PM PDT by reasonisfaith (What are the personal implications if the Resurrection of Christ is a true event in history?)
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To: All

Everything changes when the Supreme Court looks at Tina Peters’ evidence and makes a ruling.


13 posted on 03/13/2024 7:40:44 PM PDT by reasonisfaith (What are the personal implications if the Resurrection of Christ is a true event in history?)
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To: DoodleBob
It's also debated about Trump. I don't know the answer. I do believe we see the same Trump at UFC and rallies that he is behind closed doors. I can't imagine Trump ever saying “Well anyway, I'm going to get in trouble..”
14 posted on 03/13/2024 7:50:23 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: DoodleBob

France 24 is leftist cesspool. This shows the level of delusion they have. They don’t have a clue just how compromised Biden’s brain is. It is amazing the impervious the bubble these people are in.


15 posted on 03/13/2024 7:52:09 PM PDT by gibsonguy
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To: gibsonguy

They don’t care. As long as we’re protecting their asses with NATO with our blood and treasure. Not theirs.

*spit*


16 posted on 03/13/2024 8:01:14 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Equity" = "All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.")
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To: DoodleBob

Lock up your sons and daughters....PedoJoe's on the loose.

17 posted on 03/13/2024 8:01:22 PM PDT by RasterMaster ("Towering genius disdains a beaten path." - Abraham Lincoln)
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To: gibsonguy

FWIW, Kéthévane Gorjestani‘s mother is the President of Georgia.


18 posted on 03/13/2024 8:02:13 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: lightman

Or heart attack. I’m beginning to think his heart wall is thickening. Thus the cpap machine and dementia.


19 posted on 03/13/2024 8:05:18 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Equity" = "All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.")
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To: gibsonguy

“France 24 is leftist cesspool.”

“How is it possible that a country like the United States cannot come up with a better choice than two old guys that nobody wants,”
It sure is. This is a Democrat talking point and absolutely not true. Those polls that say neither candidate is wanted are fake, especially about Trump.


20 posted on 03/13/2024 8:21:42 PM PDT by rxh4n1
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