Peter Doocy confronts KJP with easy question about 'incoming nuke' and Biden — but her answer doesn't inspire confidence

Who makes decisions after President Joe Biden goes to bed? That's the pressing question Fox News senior correspondent Peter Doocy confronted the White House with on Tuesday.

Last week, Biden told a group of Democratic governors that he plans to stop working after 8 p.m. so that he can go to bed early.

'He has a team that lets him know of any news that is pertinent and important to the American people.'

The comments raised eyebrows after Biden's debate preparation schedule was made public: He didn't begin preparations until 11 a.m., and his staff always scheduled him an afternoon nap. Biden, moreover, typically has a late start to his work day and has few evening events scheduled. He also has a history of missing evening meetings on international trips.

At the White House press briefing, Doocy asked the natural follow-up question to Biden's schedule, which is much less robust than those his predecessors maintained.

"Say that the Pentagon at some point picks up an incoming nuke; it's 11:00 p.m. Who do you call? The first lady?" Doocy asked.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre could have answered the question any number of ways. One might have expected her to say that in such a critical situation, staffers would awaken the president so that he could carry out his constitutional duty as commander in chief.

But she didn't take that route.

"He has a team that lets him know of any news that is pertinent and important to the American people," she responded. "He has someone — or — that is decided, obviously, with his National Security Council on who gets to tell him that news."

A team.

Doocy presumably invoked first lady Jill Biden because former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R) revealed this week that he attended White House meetings at which she was present. This, of course, is highly unusual.

Later in the briefing, Doocy asked Jean-Pierre about the first lady's presence at those meetings, and she denied that Jill makes any decisions for her husband.

It is notable, however, that Jean-Pierre did not dispute McCarthy's claim that Jill attends Oval Office meetings.

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