Jen Psaki has resurfaced to scold President Trump over his treatment of the press, declaring from behind a laptop camera that the media exists to hold power to account, even as her own record undercuts the sermon.
According to Gateway Pundit, Psaki recently claimed that the Trump White House tried to rig media access in its favor, while she now enjoys a lucrative perch at one of the most aggressively left-wing networks in the country. She made the comments despite having negotiated her own media job while still serving as White House press secretary, fielding questions from the very outlets that would soon become her colleagues.
In her latest remarks, Psaki asserted, Its about Trump and the White House wanting to shape who the media are, who get to cover them, and make it fully sycophants. They want outlets to write complementary pieces about them. Thats not what the media or the press corps does. She went on to insist, The press is there to question, theyre there to test, theyre there to hold power to account.
Yet her lofty rhetoric clashes sharply with her own history of gentle treatment from a media establishment that has largely acted as a shield for the Biden administration rather than a watchdog. When Democrats hold power, Psakis supposed standard of relentless scrutiny seems to evaporate, replaced by friendly interviews and pre-approved talking points.
A telling example came in 2021, when CNNs Brian Stelter hosted Psaki and opened with a question that sounded more like a strategy session than journalism. Busy summer ahead infrastructure, election reform. What does the press get wrong when covering Bidens agenda? When you watch the news, when you read the news, what do you think we get wrong? Stelter asked, after noting, The White House press secretary faces some unique challenges.
As FOX News reported at the time, Stelter was widely mocked for the softball exchange, which epitomized the medias deferential posture toward the Biden White House. If this is Psakis model of holding power to account, it is little wonder that many Americans see a press corps more interested in protecting liberal politicians than in challenging them.
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