Eric Boehlert: In praise of Jen Psaki [View all]

[babylonsister]

https://pressrun.media/p/in-praise-of-jen-psaki

In praise of Jen Psaki
#PsakiBomb
Eric Boehlert


The day after President Joe Biden's first press conference last month, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy arrived at the White House press briefing feeling unloved. Having not been called on at the formal Q&A with Biden, and dwelling on his oversized sense of importance, Doocy raised his hand and asked if there as an official White House policy of not calling on him — he wanted to know if there was a coordinated campaign to ignore the Fox staffer constantly in search of a partisan fight.

Looking slightly bemused while giving her patented third-grade-teacher head tilt that conveys a willing patience, but also an unspoken and stinging, "really?", White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki patiently addressed the grievance:

PSAKI: We’re here having a conversation, aren’t we?

DOOCY: Yes, but.

PSAKI: And do I take questions from you every time you come to the briefing room?

DOOCY: Yes, but…

She soon concluded the back-and-forth by complimenting the reporter on his “awesome socks.”

The episode confirmed that Doocy vs. Psaki remains one of the great media mismatches of our time. It also made clear that Psaki's the right woman for the right time, and she's emerged as Biden's silent slayer who carries out covert media missions with a smile. She's our real-life C.J. Cregg who has brought smarts and wits back the White House briefing room, after four years of the Trump infection, where mindless sycophants at the podium waged war on the free press.

"Press Secretary Jen Psaki is kind of badass at her job, and it's because of the extremely non-combative way she is just FINISHED WITH YOUR SHIT," Wonkette observed. "It's just like ... some kind of assassin thing where some idiot asks her an idiot question and she handles it so quickly and quietly and effectively, the poor idiot's liver is bleeding out before they even feel a thing."

In less than three months, Psaki has put her permanent stamp on the job, taking over the high-profile position at a time of national crisis. Working hard to reestablish an open, professional relationship with the Beltway press corps, Psaki has perhaps done more than anyone in the administration — including Biden himself — in terms of changing the tone in our politics, and creating a new path forward towards a transparent form of government, in the wake of the Trump's ransacking of the norms.

snip//

Online, fans refer to those as a #PsakiBomb, the disarming way she dispenses with bad faith or plainly misleading questions. The "bomb" part of that description is slightly off, though. The good-natured Psaki remains a quintessential non-bomb thrower. She’s not trying to tear anything down. But her pointed answers can leave a nasty mark when necessary. That's her super power.

And that’s why she’s the understated rock star of the Biden era.