Jen Psaki did not allow a reporter who bought into the Republicans’ talking point about Alito’s leaked memo. She stopped it cold.
Jen Psaki will not allow a distracting narrative
Most Progressive bloggers will miss Jen Psaki when she leaves the White House in May 2022. She gave us a lot of substantive material.
Psaki is quick on her feet and is fearless in a testosterone-filled room where many male journalists attempt to bully female press secretaries verbally. I am sure the competent Karine Jean-Pierre will be ready to step up even though she will have additional obstacles to jump over as they will judge her through characteristically different metrics.
A reporter influenced by the Republican talking points attempted to corner Jen Psaki. He wanted to keep Alito’s leaked brief as the story’s center.
“You guys have criticized leaks before as it’s been provided,” the reporter asked. “So that. You’ve criticized it in the past. Why not criticize this leak again?”
Psaki would have none of it.
“What we think is happening here,” Psaki said. “There is an effort to distract from what the actual issue is here.”
As the reporter continued to push the distracting leak narrative, Psaki shut it down.
“There has been a call for an investigation by leaders of the Supreme Court,” Psaki pointed out. “Decisions on that and how it will be pursued will be made by the Department of Justice and others. And that’s certainly their space and right to make that decision in government. That’s how government is set up. But at the same time, what we’ve also seen, Peter is many Republicans who are trying to overturn a woman’s fundamental rights try to make this about the leak. This is not about the leak. This is about women’s health care and women having access to health care and making choices with their doctors. And we are not; we are working not to not allow that to be the distraction.”
Republicans act like a dog that catches the cat and have no idea what to do with it. When you are at the losing end of an issue where a supermajority is against you, the only option is to distract and deflect. Democrats need to lean into this issue. Republicans are an existential threat to a woman’s health. Worse, not unlike the Taliban, they insist on having the final say on forcing a woman to carry a child at all cost. If that isn’t the behavior f the religious zealots we criticize I do not know what is.
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