White House Refuses to Condemn Hoffa Vitriol, Calls It 'Kabuki Theatre'

The White House responds to the controversy over James Hoffa's caustic comments about the Tea Party

JAKE TAPPER, ABC NEWS: And lastly, Jay, in January, President Obama said after the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of the of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.” Did he mean that?

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Of course he did.

TAPPER: How does the comments — how do the comments by the Teamster’s president fit in with that?

CARNEY: Well, first of all, those weren’t comments by the president. Secondly, as I think has been recorded –

TAPPER: They were comments by a union leader at an event that President Obama spoke at.

CARNEY: I understand that there is a ritual in Washington that, you know, somebody says something and you link the associations and then everybody who has an association with him or her is somehow — has to avow or disavow it. The president wasn’t there — I mean, he wasn’t on the stage. He didn’t speak for another 20 minutes. He didn’t hear it. I really don’t have any comment beyond that, Jake.

TAPPER: OK, well, some of us covered the campaign and recall a time when somebody made some harsh comments about then-Senator Obama while — during the introduction of a McCain rally. And the Obama campaign was offended and expected an apology, and Senator McCain came out and did so.

CARNEY: The — Mr. Hoffa speaks for himself. He speaks for the labor movement — AFL-CIO. The president speaks for himself. I speak for the president. You know, what the president was glad to do yesterday was have the opportunity to present his views on the importance of working Americans and on the importance of taking measures to help working Americans, to create jobs and grow the economy.

TAPPER: So the precedent — so the precedent you’re setting right now for the 2012 election is that Republican candidates are the ones that we need to pay attention to, and those who introduce them at rallies, their surrogates — we don’t have to pay attention to anything that they say.

CARNEY: Jake, I really — I think I’ve said what I can say about that.

TAPPER: Is that the standard now?

CARNEY: You can report it as you –

TAPPER: I’d rather — I’d rather not have to do this Washington kabuki every time something happens. But if that’s — if that’s the standard — if that’s the standard, then –

CARNEY: The standard is we should focus on the actions we can take to grow the economy and create jobs instead of focusing on kabuki theater.