An ode to the Secretary of Spin
Psaki to leave White House in May and join close friends in media
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is leaving the White House in May, according to reports, and the Secretary of Spin is taking her talents to the White House’s PR division — the mainstream media, where seldom if ever is heard a discouraging word, about her boss or any other Democrat, for that matter.
Axios broke the news that Psaki “is in exclusive talks with MSNBC to join the network after she leaves the White House around May, according to a source close to the matter.”
The downside for Jen is that she will have a lot fewer people watching her at MSNBC. The only thing lower than the network’s journalistic standards are its ratings. According to Forbes, MSNBC finished the first quarter of 2022 in second place behind Fox News “with an average total audience of 1.205 million viewers—down 46% …”
Then again, the soon-tobe-former press secretary will probably receive a much higher paycheck from the network with its glittering cast of fake-news allstars like Joy Reid, Al Sharpton, Chuck Todd, Mike Barnicle and Rachel Maddow.
The news of Jen’s departure raises plenty of ethical questions.
On Friday, White House reporters, who occasionally felt obligated to appear as if they are actual journalists rather than Democrat cheerleaders, asked Psaki about the questionable ethics of the move.
One reporter delicately broached the subject by asking, “And just because this has been raised by our colleagues, by people who are observing this process: Is it ethical for you to continue conducting this job while negotiating with a media outlet?”
Psaki assured the press room’s trained seals that she had gone “over and above the stringent ethical and legal requirements of the Biden administration.”
If the ethical standards of the Biden Administration are as stringent as the ones in the Biden family, then Jen Psaki may be playing with fire.
NBC’s Kristen Welker asked more follow-ups on the MSNBC move and Jen Psaki up-talked a few vague non-answers, head fakes and swerves — same as always.
It was all theater, of course. The truth is that Jen Psaki leaving the Biden Administration to work for MSNBC is simply confirming what we have all known for a long time. The members of the mainstream media are Democrats with press passes — nothing more. They are all on the same team.
In fact, I would argue that the members of the media work harder to prop up Joe Biden than any of the Ivy League legacies in his administration — with the exception of Jen Psaki.
As much as I disagree with the press secretary’s politics — and believe me, I do — there is no denying that Psaki has been a major asset to this dumpster fire of an administration.
She is a master manipulator and her skills look even more impressive when you compare her abilities to those of Joe or Kamala. Since starting her job over a year ago, Psaki has never conceded any of the administration’s mistakes like the botched Afghanistan withdrawal or the about-to-getmuch-worse catastrophe on the southern border.
Furthermore, her ability to gaslight the American people with a condescending smirk would make Baghdad Bob blush.
This all begs the question: what will the Biden-Harris administration do without her? Just because Psaki is tired of being the straw boss of the old man’s clean-up crew (and who could blame her?) does not mean the messes are going to cease.
On Saturday the President delivered remarks at the USS Delaware commissioning commemoration ceremony. He came out with this head-scratcher while talking about his wife Jill:
“I’m deeply proud of the work doing as first lady with Joining Forces initiative she started with Michelle Obama when she was vice president.”
When who was Vice President? Michelle or Jill? I guess it doesn’t really matter, in the context of the ongoing calamity that is the Biden administration.
The president’s most recent howlers are especially concerning because they are not his typical off-thecuff gaffes. Now Joe is starting to make jarring errors while reading his prepared remarks off a massive teleprompter.
Psaki is getting out of this Charlie Foxtrot at the right time.
A few of the names being floated as potential replacements for the position include the White House’s deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby and Communications Director Kate Bedingfield.
No one knows who will take over for Jen Psaki — but whoever is unlucky enough to inherit her empty podium will certainly have big shoes to fill. And even bigger messes to try to mop up.