Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, said Thursday that although they wished they could have sent someone to Paris sooner in the wake of a string of terrorist attacks, they got the “substance” right.
“Certainly we would have liked to have participated in the parade,” she said on CNN’s “New Day.” “I’d remind you that Attorney General [Eric] Holder was in Paris for a very important meeting together with his colleagues from around Europe and around the world to take a look at what we [can] do to make sure that we’re cooperating, and so I think we certainly got the substance right, but it would have been great to participate in the parade, and we’re delighted that Secretary [of State John] Kerry is there now.”
She said she wasn’t aware of any discussion to possibly have Mr. Holder participate in the Sunday march, which was attended by many world leaders; the White House has since said it should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there.
“I know that he had pressing issues to get back, and he dropped everything to fly over there at the invitation of the French to participate in the meeting, but I don’t know the facts about whether or not he was asked” to stay, she said of Mr. Holder.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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