I am not a fan of outgoing White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. She was condescending and arrogant. She lacked credibility for someone who claimed to represent the most transparent administration in history, and her comments were often rebuked. She often gave the impression that she was not the spokesperson but was calling the shots. To circle back, I will not miss our daily dose of Jen Psaki, and she has found an appropriate landing spot at MSNBC.
Enter Karine Jean-Pierre. JP moves up from the assistant role to take the podium on the main stage. She has been there as a fill-in and, in my opinion, has not earned her promotion. She does not have command of the position of the President across the spectrum of issues, and “circle-back” will be her best move.
The Biden team is not a good administration to be the front person. The approval ratings are abysmal, and many of the President’s positions are not aligned with public sentiment. The one thing Karine will have in her favor is a soft media group that continues to cheerlead for the President. This advantage may be short-lived as the mainstream media appears to be stepping up their game as continuing their blind support for a failing President is not a successful or profitable position.
I found it offensive, but in line with this administration’s MO, when Jean-Pierre was introduced as the new Press Secretary, there was no mention of her credentials or fitness for the job. Instead, there was an emphasis on the number of boxes Karine checked. Black, check. Female, check. Gay, double-check!. Diversity, not excellence, is key to Biden and the country loses again.
One of the biggest lies continually pushed by Psaki was how accessible Biden is to the media. Her claim that Biden speaks openly once, if not twice, per day is not valid. Biden has fewer press conferences than any of his predecessors, and when he does speak, it usually requires staff to clean up quickly. Biden’s performance dispels any thought that this administration is transparent.
So, where do we stand now? We have a failing President and now an incompetent Press Secretary. We have continued to claim that America deserves better, but at this point, we have to lower our expectations. That is something we should never have to do when talking about the President of the United States, but it has become necessary. Whether it is Mayor Pete, AG Garland, Mayorkas, or any of the cabinet speaking to the press or before Congress, their credibility is always called into question. Three Pinocchios is a typical score for Team Biden. Harris is not exempt. When Joe lets her out, she is a quarantined embarrassment and fodder for FOX News. If there is one consistency we can expect from our Executive Branch, it is incompetence which explains how we have lost all traction gained under Trump in just fifteen months. The unanswered question is how low Biden can drag us.
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