Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary, recently criticized the Trump administration for its alleged condescending treatment of the American public.
This comes after her tenure under former President Joe Biden, where she consistently maintained that Biden was in excellent mental health, despite rising concerns.
According to the Daily Caller, Psaki accused the Trump administration of "gaslighting" the American people during a discussion on the "Morning Joe" show. She was referring to the leaked Signal messages that revealed a planned attack on the Houthis in Yemen. National Security adviser Mike Waltz had mistakenly added Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, to the chat. Goldberg subsequently published screenshots of the internal discussions about the military's planned attack, which took place on March 15.
Psaki stated, "Look, there's a basic rule of politics that usually is true, don't treat everybody like they're stupid and like they're complete morons out there." She continued, "And right now what we've seen, Jeffrey Goldberg obviously put out all the details on Monday, then he put out the details that included the times, the weapons, specificity. It doesn't matter what it's called, the game of semantics is absurd here. Anybody could've read that piece and seen these are details that shouldn't be in a sensitive group chat."
However, during her time serving under Biden, Psaki was known for her attempts to reassure the public about the former president's health. This was particularly pertinent when concerns about Biden's mental capacity surfaced after he stumbled and fell multiple times while ascending the stairs of Air Force One in March 2021.
When asked about Biden's falls during a March 2021 briefing, Psaki avoided directly answering the question, attributing the incident to "tricky steps." In May 2021, she told reporters that Biden was so fit that it was challenging to keep pace with him. "I can tell you, having traveled with him a fair amount, sometimes he's hard to keep up with," Psaki said in response to a question about the president's workout routine.
In November 2021, Biden underwent a procedure to remove a "benign-appearing polyp" found during a colonoscopy, leading to former Vice President Kamala Harris temporarily assuming the role of acting president. Psaki, during a Nov. 19, 2021, briefing, suggested that conspiracy theorists were responsible for the public's concerns about Biden's mental and physical health.
In addition to his health, Psaki also defended Biden following the ill-executed withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the death of 13 service members in August 2021. She told Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy that it was "irresponsible" to claim that American citizens were "stranded" in Afghanistan. She also asserted that no one could have predicted the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan after the U.S. troops' departure.
In May 2024, Psaki denied that Biden had checked his watch during a ceremony honoring the fallen soldiers, despite photographic and video evidence to the contrary.
Biden's presidential campaign ended abruptly in July 2024 after a disastrous debate performance against President Donald Trump. This event sparked widespread concerns among Democrats and the general public about Biden's health, leading to his withdrawal from the race.
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