If a White House reporter has to say to the press secretary that “IT’S A SERIOUS QUESTION”, is it? In this case, I think the answer is no.

April Ryan, a White House correspondent for the Grio, asked Karine Jean-Pierre about setting up a meeting between Biden and Stevie Wonder. Yes, you read that right – Stevie Wonder. Ryan took the opportunity of being called on by the press secretary to let the room know that she had an “in-depth” conversation with Stevie Wonder last night and he wants a meeting with the president. I know. Her colleagues in the briefing room laughed at her – the name dropping was cringeworthy – so she defensively and forcefully said, “IT’S A SERIOUS QUESTION,” and I laughed harder.

Ryan is a reporter who has the victim-and-social justice grievance beat in racial politics. During the Trump administration she was a regular on PBS and CNN broadcasts as she took the Trump administration, specifically Sarah Huckabee Sanders, to task. Remember PieGate? April Ryan was so triggered by then-Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ humblebrag about her homemade chocolate pecan pie for her family’s Thanksgiving dinner in 2017 that Ryan demanded to see a photo of that pie on Sanders’ dinner table. Yeah, it was crazy. Ryan seems to thrive on attention.

Here is what happened today when KJP called on Ryan:

This was a real question at the WH briefing.

theGrio's April Ryan to KJP: "I had an in-depth conversation w/Stevie Wonder last night who is —[REPORTERS LAUGH]–AGAIN, IT'S A SERIOUS QUESTION — I had an in-depth conversation w/Stevie Wonder last night, who is…requesting a… pic.twitter.com/YtA26I5aaf

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 27, 2023

theGrio’s April Ryan to KJP: “I had an in-depth conversation w/Stevie Wonder last night who is —[REPORTERS LAUGH]–AGAIN, IT’S A SERIOUS QUESTION — I had an in-depth conversation w/Stevie Wonder last night, who is…requesting a meeting w/the President. He’s very concerned about the black agenda falling along the wayside and issues like laws of 50 years ago that are now being abolished or gutted, to include issues like the Voting Rights Act, what happened in Arkansas last wk, affirmative action — Supreme Court — as we’ve seen it, ban on books, and he’s also even brought up issues of the Congo and the lack of information from the WH. Is the WH amenable to sitting down with Stevie Wonder who has met with presidents, um throughout history to include Ronald Reagan? He was one of the major impetuses for getting the holiday for Dr Martin Luther King Jr and also he was one of those who worked with President Obama in his efforts to become President. Is this President amenable to meeting with Stevie Wonder who has these concerns?”

Democrats always invoke the name of Ronald Reagan when they want to be taken seriously by a larger audience, right?

I had no idea that music icon Stevie Wonder was a key person in “the black agenda” and protector of civil rights. I learn something new every day.

I have some thoughts about April’s request that Wonder be granted a meeting with Biden. First, the Voting Rights Act ruling in Arkansas. That was a ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals last week that “ruled outside actors will not be able to bring legal action in the states the circuit court covers: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.” The U.S. government can enforce the Voting Rights Act’s provisions.

The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965 and outlaws racial discrimination in voting. Campaign groups and citizens have typically been allowed to sue to enforce Section 2 of the civil rights law but now the federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling has changed that.

In a 2-1 decision, the judges—all Republican appointees—ruled outside actors will not be able to bring legal action in the states the circuit court covers: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

“After reviewing the text, history, and structure of the Voting Rights Act, the district court concluded that private parties cannot enforce Section 2,” the judges wrote. “The enforcement power belonged solely to the Attorney General of the United States.”

While it only applies to states covered by the 8th Circuit, the ruling makes it “significantly harder to challenge voting rules in those states ahead of the 2024 election as long as this ruling stands,” Forbes noted.

The standard voter disenfranchisement cries rang out from progressives who count on making up their own rules in elections, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. The judges who participated in the ruling were all Republican appointees, so that is a reason for Democrats to complain. The ruling came from a case brought by the Arkansas State Conference NAACP and Arkansas Public Policy Panel over maps drawn after redistricting. They claim the black vote is diluted.

The Supreme Court ruled on Affirmative Action. And, the trope about book bans is common with those who have no problem with inappropriate material in the classrooms of young children. Removing a book from a classroom and putting it in a library section for older students is not a book ban.

It’s standard grievance stuff. To be honest, it just looks like Wonder wants some presidential attention and Ryan agreed to put KJP on the spot in the White House briefing room. For the record, KJP slobbered all over herself as she tried to placate Ryan and sing the praises of the social activism of Stevie Wonder (“Mr. Wonder”) but she never committed to a meeting with the president. She’s not the president’s scheduler.

Even April Ryan’s colleagues don’t take her seriously anymore. Shouldn’t someone demand a picture of her and Wonder together during their “in-depth discussion?” If it’s good for a pie, it should be good for a music legend, too. Ryan is supposed to be a reporter, not a personal assistant.