CHICAGO–White House Press Secretary Jay Carney shrugged off Friday candid comments President Obama made about Republicans and budget negotiations before a private fund-raiser with donors here, not knowing his remarks were being carried in a live audio feed to a press room in the White House.
CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller in Washington caught the comments. Carney brushed it off during a briefing on Air Force One as Obama returned to Washington on Friday from Chicago.
Below, the exchange:
Q How did it happen last night that those remarks were piped back into the press room?
MR. CARNEY: It was a miscommunication, nothing more than that. But we’ve — it’s not a problem, not an issue.
Q Is the President embarrassed about anything that he said —
MR. CARNEY: Not at all.
Q — or regret —
MR. CARNEY: Not at all. There’s nothing —
Q — might have clarified them differently if he had known they were for public distribution?
MR. CARNEY: He obviously — that was meant to be a closed-press event. He was taking questions from supporters. But there’s nothing — nothing he said that contradicts anything he said in public.
