 Meanwhile, the press, who have been his Praetorian guard for his entire modern career, covering up for every one of his flubs, every one of his excesses, his family's corruption, his senility. Now, in order to preserve themselves, they have to separate off the dying carcass of the whale. They have to. So yesterday, Karine Jean-Pierre held her most brutal press conference, which is saying a lot since she's the worst press secretary in modern history.