Somewhere high on the list of people who helped cover up former President Joe Biden’s debilitating health problems is Jen Psaki, queen of the empty promise to “circle back” with answers to reporters’ questions.
Psaki, Biden’s former press secretary and constant cheerleader, has consistently explained away Biden’s missteps, even after she was off the White House payroll in 2022 and hosting a television show on MSNBC.
Whether dismissive or defensive, Psaki is always ready to insist on an incredible explanation for why, instead of trusting your own eyes, you are mean or dumb to question her word on Biden and his administration.
Here is a look at some of the ways Psaki managed White House messaging, deflected damaging stories about Biden, conjured the illusion of competence, and perpetuated Biden’s ghost presidency.
Joe Biden is magic
Biden was a gaffe machine, even though he was kept mostly kept out of public view. Press conferences with Biden flying solo were so rare that they became much anticipated and scrutinized. After his disastrous June 27 debate with Donald Trump, Democrats were calling for Biden to pull out of the presidential race. Biden held a so-called “high stakes” July 11 press conference in which he, at times, stumbled and mumbled. The press conference was riddled with questions about his mental ability to continue his campaign. Biden vowed he would stay in the race.
Psaki spun Biden’s rare public appearances into an excuse for why people questioned Biden’s mental acuity. They are just not used to seeing him, and they don’t understand his magic.
“Because … the public is not seeing … the magic of Joe Biden, you’re relying on how is he going to answer the ninth question about his mental acuity at a press conference,” Psaki told Seth Meyers.
Biden ultimately dropped out July 21.
Biden just had a bad debate
When Biden performed poorly in the June debate with Trump and others in the Democrat Party were calling for him to drop out of the race, Psaki had his back. She took to social media to remind voters their choice is “Much bigger than one debate,” and that even former president Barack Obama had a bad debate before winning an election.
It is a masterclass in manipulation in which, using lots of meaningless words, Psaki admits, yes, the debate was not great, but it does not matter.
Joe Biden is a storyteller
OK, this is probably true. Biden has told some whoppers. The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd made a list in 2021 recalling Biden claiming he had been a professor and a semi tractor trailer driver. Biden has also claimed he secured the border, that he was appointed to the Naval Academy, and that he decreased the national debt.
Psaki said Biden is an amazing storyteller, able to tell stories in the Oval Office for six hours at a time. This is terrific preventative damage control. If Biden gaffes, and he will, Psaki can reflect back and say, “See, he is a great storyteller.”
Biden is mentally sharper than Trump
In March, Psaki shared a short string of five clips from Trump at his hours-long political rallies where he mispronounced several words. Everyone misspeaks at times, especially those keeping a grueling schedule. Psaki fails to mention that while Trump has a teleprompter, he often strays from prepared words, adlibbing in a relatable way about where he is, the people who are with him, and the news of the day. He calls people on stage and sometimes has an impromptu conversation with them in front of the audience.
Biden routinely struggled to deliver prepared speeches fully read from a teleprompter and could not think on his feet.
Their abilities are not comparable.
“For sweating Biden’s age and whether he is up to the job, I’ve got a question for you. What do you think about this?” Psaki asked before running the Trump cuts. “I mean, you’d rather, that guy have access to the nuclear codes?”
She can’t produce video of Biden looking sharp, so, using deceptive editing, she strings together a few harmless verbal anomalies and tries to pass it off as Trump losing his mind.
I’m not a doctor
In a recent interview, Psaki said she doesn’t like the term “cover-up.” She distances herself from any responsibility for overselling Biden’s abilities to the American public.
“A cover up is often, like a crime,” Psaki said. And she wants everyone to know, she was nowhere near a cover-up. She left the White House in 2022 and claims she never saw any signs of Biden’s mental decline.
“I’m not a doctor. Aging happens quite quickly,” she said, indicating that any mental decline would have been after she stopped working for Biden. But concerns about Biden’s age and ability started before he was inaugurated.
Former Biden staffers appear uncomfortable and defensive when Biden’s mental ability is discussed. They are aware of the growing public appetite to hold someone accountable for deceiving the nation.
Beth Brelje is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. She is an award-winning investigative journalist with decades of media experience.
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