White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki referred to Fox News Channel’s Peter Doocy as a “stupid son of a bitch” during an interview for the Pod Save America podcast this week. Psaki has one foot out of the door, having all but formally completed a deal to go to work for MSNBC when she leaves. Questions of the ethics of her staying in her current position are being raised.
Earlier this year, Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic calling Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch” after he asked a question about inflation during one of Biden’s rare press conferences. It was a perfectly legit question for a reporter to ask with inflation on the rise and a top concern for Americans. The reporters on Biden’s pre-approved list, though, were asking typical softball questions so Doocy’s question stood out. Our thin-skinned president doesn’t like to be questioned on the consequences of his poor performance in office. Thus, he was heard slamming Doocy for doing his job.
Jen Psaki was asked about that remark toward the end of her interview on the podcast. Pod Save America is hosted by Obama bros Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor. It was Pfeiffer who asked Psaki the question. “Is he a stupid son of a bitch, or does he just play a stupid son of a bitch on TV?” Pfeiffer asked. The podcast was conducted live on stage in D.C. and the audience laughed. Psaki could have blown the question off but instead, she took a shot at Fox, catching Doocy in the crossfire.
“Well, he works for a network that provides people with questions that — nothing person to any individual, including Peter Doocy — but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch,” Psaki said.
Jen Psaki is asked if “Peter Doocy is a stupid son of a bitch or does he just play one on tv:”
“He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch.” pic.twitter.com/2FYMPX12Rr
— Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) April 15, 2022
That baseless attack on a White House reporter was then followed up with a story that Psaki apparently meant to show that Doocy is a professional despite working for FNC, or something. She pointed to “a moment of grace” shown by Doocy.
Psaki, who is expected to leave the White House in the coming weeks for a job at MSNBC, then said she’d like tell a “nice Doocy story,” noting that it wouldn’t be popular with the left-leaning audience at a “Pod Save America” live event. Revisiting Biden’s “stupid son of a bitch” remark from January, Psaki commended Doocy’s handling of the exchange and of Biden’s apology for the name-calling episode.
“Sean Hannity asked him about what the president had said and what he said back. And he could’ve been like, ‘he’s a son of a bitch,’ or I’m standing up for whatever. He could’ve said anything. And instead he said, ‘you know, he called me. I’m just asking my questions. He’s doing his job,’” Psaki recalled. “You don’t have to like everything Peter Doocy says or does, but that was certainly a moment of grace by Peter Doocy.”
Ironically, Psaki is incapable of any moments of grace herself and that was on full display as she yukked it up with her former colleagues from the Obama administration. Liberals and progressives think they are the smartest people in the room. Anyone who dares to ask a real question of the feeble old man in the Oval Office must be mocked and shut down. Psaki regularly spars with Doocy during White House press briefings, never missing an opportunity to deliver some snark about his employer. Remember when Obama instructed Democrats to boycott Fox News? I think Psaki is still living in that time with no self-awareness that she is now the spokesperson for a man who pledged to unite America and bring back a return to a more civil time.
The first to respond to Psaki’s classless remark was Doocy’s predecessor, former White House correspondent John Roberts, now an anchor on a weekday news show. He took Psaki to task for stating that Fox provides questions for its reporters. Psaki, by the way, offered no evidence for such a claim. There is none, of course, as it was a partisan attack.
Note to @PressSec . @pdoocy makes the decisions on what topics he wants to quiz you on, and develops the questions himself.
His philosophy is a basic tenet of journalism. Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. If that makes all of us “stupid s.o.b.s”, so be it.— John Roberts (@johnrobertsFox) April 15, 2022
CNN’s Brian Stelter went on air to defend Psaki. Because, of course he did. He basically said that FNC had the attack coming just for being in existence. Without most media outlets walking in lockstep to deliver DNC talking points, Stelter would not have a job with CNN.
CNN’s @BrianStelter defends Jen Psaki saying Peter Doocy is “a stupid son of a b****” because he works for Fox News, saying “it does come with the territory” and “Fox pushes storylines that are sometimes nonsense.”
“She didn’t really criticize him directly.” pic.twitter.com/jLbddwraVD
READ RELATED: Feel-Good Friday: A Sanitation Worker Saves the Life of an 82-Year-Old Woman With Dementia
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 15, 2022
Reporting on Psaki’s future employment includes stories that she was pursued by CNN besides MSNBC.
Fox gave a statement to the Daily Mail in defense of Doocy.
‘In his role as White House correspondent, Peter Doocy’s job is to elicit truth from power for the American public. His questions are his own, he is a terrific reporter and we are extremely proud of his work,’ a spokesperson for Fox News Channel told DailyMail.com.
Last night, Psaki tried to soften her remarks by pointing out that she told her Obama buddies that Doocy showed grace about the original remark from Biden.
Full video shows I also told a story about Peter’s grace last night and made very clear I was not being critical of him or any reporter at Fox, and instead was critical of the slant of some Fox topics. He is doing his job. I am doing mine. We debate. We disagree. I respect that.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) April 16, 2022
So, there we are. I don’t think it is a stretch to be skeptical that Psaki respects any FNC reporter, certainly not Doocy who asks challenging questions and holds Biden (and her) accountable for statements they make. Imagine if Psaki was in the position that Republicans who are White House press secretaries are in and facing a room full of hostile reporters. Look no further than the previous administration when the White House press corps descended to new lows, shouting at press secretaries and even asking “How do you sleep at night?” Jen is one of the club so she usually only faces off with Doocy. In a just world, all press secretaries would be questioned in a professional manner and held accountable for the actions of the administration in the White House, regardless of political party. The national media is so far in the tank for Democrats, though, it is now impossible to even hope for professionalism.
Psaki should be held accountable and she should be told by her boss to resign. She is ethically conflicted by holding her position while she negotiates for her next job which will be a media gig. She’s the first press secretary reported to be signing a contract with a network while still working for the White House, paid by American taxpayers.
I’ll end with a question. Who exactly is in charge in this administration? Biden consistently references others when he says he’s been told he can or can’t do something. It’s always “they” won’t let me or he says he’ll get in trouble. When Psaki was asked if Biden would be going to Ukraine, she said no, “We are not sending the president to Ukraine.” Who is we, Jen?
Psaki also said President Joe Biden would not be traveling to Ukraine, despite him telling reporters Thursday morning that, ‘yeah,’ he was up for the trip.
‘No, no,’ she assured the podcast hosts. ‘He is ready, he’s ready for anything, the man likes a fast car, some aviators, he’s ready to go to Ukraine.’
‘We are not sending the president to Ukraine,’ Psaki said.
The press secretary pointed to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent trek to the wartorn country.
‘What I will tell you is that, what Boris Johnson did is he took, I believe, an eight-hour train through a war zone to get to the middle of Ukraine,’ she said. ‘So, no that is not in the plans for the president of the United States.’
‘We should all maybe be relieved about that,’ she added. ‘He’s got a few other things to do.’
Biden has delegated the role of leader of the free world to European leaders. Apparently, his staff (or maybe his wife) have set him up to look weak and under the control of others. He’s not up to the job.
Source: