Jay Carney Teaches David Letterman How to Deal With the Press (Video)

Obama’s former White House press secretary used everything from “no comment” to “I don’t want to” when he had no answer to a question from the press corps

Now that he’s left the White House, former Obama press secretary Jay Carney is opening up about his time there. On Wednesday, he tells David Letterman on “The Late Show” of the myriad of ways he declined to answer certain questions (see video above).

There’s the standard “no comment,” though he says he tried to make it more of a complete sentence. “I don’t have the answer” and “I would refer you to someone else” are others, though Carney thinks just saying “I don’t know” is the smartest answer for when you genuinely don’t know.

Also read: Jay Carney Blasts White House Press Corps in First Interview Since Leaving Obama Administration

The big thing is not to be wrong, because “there are repercussions,” says Carney. “They could be international, domestic or political, and in today’s media climate, that could metastasize so quickly.” There are also times when he actually can’t answer, due to the confidential nature of some government operations.

But there are times when Carney just gets creative (“Yeah, but I could just be making that up”) or downright petulant (“I don’t want to”).

Carney left his post as Press Secretary on May 30. Despite earlier rumors of a move to CNN, he has not announced his next move yet.

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