Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

I wonder if trump will be tried as an adult.

Consistently wrong since 2002

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Spilling the end game before they can coat it in frankl luntz-approved dogwhistles.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

We still have time to mess this up!

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

This blog will pay for itself.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the GOP

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

We are builders in a constant struggle with destroyers. let’s win this.

Let’s finish the job.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: Jen Psaki Answers Your Questions

Open Thread: Jen Psaki Answers Your Questions

by | 135 Comments

This post is in: 

It’s the weekend, are you missing your daily dose of Jen Psaki?

She clearly has a following, and these clips are fun.  (Maybe only a nerd would say that?)

Jen Psaki (below) answers questions from regular people.  Feel free to use this space to compose stupid press questions, as well as what you think Jen’s answers would be.  For bonus points, you can include the Jen Psaki Anger Translator version, too.

Episode 1:

Episode 2:

Episode 3:

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

135Comments

  1. 1.

    Ken

    After MajorGate, I’ll nominate “release the hounds” for the all-purpose Anger Translator.

    I suppose there’s no chance of her every saying to a member of the press, “That’s a very stupid question, but it does remind me of a much better one that was posted to my YouTube channel by someone who isn’t even a trained journalist….”

  4. 4.

    debbie

    @Ken:

    She’s already a target for the RWNJs. Glenn Beck insists on pronouncing the “p” in her last name. Mighty mature, and I think proof they got nothing.

  9. 9.

    Starfish

    @Ken: The National Pork Product Council is writing her a sternly worded letter about the fact that she did not include bacon and sausage.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @Starfish:

    Thanks for taking my question.

    What do you have to say to the Americans who know that breakfast is really important… who are wondering why you won’t say the words “most important meal of the day” ?

    Some say that you are avoiding using the term, when we all know that it’s true?

    The previous administration called it the most important meal of the day.  Look around, people everywhere are eating breakfast, why won’t you admit how important it is?

    What are you hiding?

  11. 11.

    Kristine

    I’m still adjusting to the difference in tone and overall competence between this administration and the previous clown show. Definitely a Psaki fan.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @Mike in NC: I think she is beautiful.  I notice that she always wears solid colors, and they are usually strong colors, no pastels that I have noticed.

    I imagine she is breaking some of the “rules” about what colors redheads are allowed to wear, but I haven’t seen a color yet that didn’t look great.

  16. 16.

    Kristine

    @WaterGirl: I will never be able to comprehend that. It’s like needing surgery and having a choice between a trained, competent surgeon or a three-year-old rolling on the floor screaming and deciding ‘yeah, I’ll take the kid.’

  18. 18.

    zhena gogolia

    I love her. Strong, intelligent, beautiful in a non-plastic way, and her technique of making them specify who “some people” are is brilliant!

  20. 20.

    Amir Khalid

    It’s telling that in four years, der ehemalige Typ never managed to appoint a WH Press Secretary who came anywhere near Jen Psaki’s professionalism, credibility, and normality.

  21. 21.

    pat

    And yet I just read on Crooks and Liars that CNN will no longer broadcast the press briefings.  After they covered every lying word coming from the former guys and gals.

  22. 22.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Amir Khalid: They didn’t want to hire people like that. It was a choice. The people they put in that position were doing exactly what  TFG wanted them to do.

  23. 23.

    hueyplong

    I gave up political and news shows for Lent (this place is currently my sole source for non-sports information) and the first thing I do after Easter will be to check out one of her pressers.

    Might let the rest continue, and am feeling guilty that my choice of “giving up” has turned out to be so pleasant.

  24. 24.

    Van Buren

    @WaterGirl: Ms. Van Buren thought the red was a mistake, as in, not flattering. In her youth Ms. Van Buren had the same skin tone and hair color, so I defer to her judgement.

  27. 27.

    Suzanne

    @debbie:

    Glenn Beck insists on pronouncing the “p” in her last name. 

    To be fair, I insist on pronouncing the invisible “asshole” in “Glenn”.

  28. 28.

    Cameron

    It must be great having a job where you don’t have to figure out what lies you’re supposed to be telling on any given day.

  29. 29.

    wvng

    I fell in love with her from the first moments of her first briefing. So smart, so precise, so gently cutting when needed. And nice looking with a minimum of makeup which, after the former gal, is incredibly refreshing.

  32. 32.

    Amir Khalid

    @Van Buren: 
    I have to disagree with Ms van Buren. Throughout my thirties I crushed on Gillian Anderson and her (dyed) red hair as Agent Scully, and I think Jen Psaki looks just fine.

  33. 33.

    SamInWa

    These are great and I do like them.

    Snarky, I’m playing a reporter comment…

    “You told us what kind of breakfasts you like, but you didn’t tell us what you had for breakfast this morning. What is this administration trying to hide from the American people?”

  34. 34.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @WaterGirl: Brilliant.  Captures the utter idiocy of the Village perfectly.

    “Jen, if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”

  35. 35.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Amir Khalid: ​
      I don’t think Mrs VB was objecting to the red hair but rather the choice of a red dress with Ms Psaki’s red hair and skin tone.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    @Old School:

    Why does she feel the need to dodge a breakfast question?  (Episode 3)

    You don’t remember what happened when Obama said he drank OJ instead of coffee for breakfast?

  41. 41.

    Mike in NC

    @wvng: Kelly McWhatshername was so utterly creepy and plastic that I had to change the channel whenever I saw her. The Fat Orange Clown had the most ghastly taste in everything.

  43. 43.

    Skepticat

    I am so impressed by this woman’s elan, intelligence, sense of humor, and control. She’s Allison Janney’s “West Wing” character brought to life and improved upon. Choosing her speaks incredibly well of and is typical of the professionalism and intelligence of this administration.

  44. 44.

    Old School

    @Baud:

    You don’t remember what happened when Obama said he drank OJ instead of coffee for breakfast?

    No.  Is there a scandal that I’ve forgotten?

  46. 46.

    laura

    Big Red is stunningly in charge- and being a mother to toddlers is a tangible benefit in dealing with the press gaggle. Watching her repeatedly bludgeon Doocey the younger and his stupefying attempts to play gotcha only to crash and burn is a thing to behold. Biden’s surrounded himself with a slew of qualified competent women to the benefit of all of us. The other side- well Boebert, Taylor Green, and Noem.

  47. 47.

    Kristine

    @Van Buren:

    In her youth Ms. Van Buren had the same skin tone and hair color, so I defer to her judgement.

    That takes me back to the days when all the spring/summer/autumn/winter color coding was a thing. Ms Psaki pretty much defines “autumn” with her red hair and yellow undertone of her skin, and some of the other colors she’s shown wearing–the powder gray-blue and deep blue/gray/looks olive to me–were considered autumn colors and look great on her. Thing is, tomato red was considered autumn too, but it’s such an intense color that it tends to swamp everything in its path.

  49. 49.

    Old School

    @Baud: That is weird.  If someone would have offered me coffee this morning, I would have taken it.  But alas, I would have had to make it myself.

  52. 52.

    SFAW

    Feel free to use this space to compose stupid press questions, as well as what you think Jen’s answers would be.

    Although I could probably come up with a question or three, I think I would like to have a tutorial given by the “NY Times Pitchbot” — whoever THAT guy is — before submitting it/them.

  53. 53.

    Ken

    @SFAW: I took that course, and can summarize:

    1. Think of the most stupid question you can.
    2. Go bigger.

     

    Not really sure it was worth the tuition and fees.

  55. 55.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Cameron: It must be great having a job where you don’t have to figure out what lies you’re supposed to be telling on any given day. ​

    The second-best part about telling the truth is never having to keep straight what lies you told to whom.

    The best part, of course, is – telling the truth.

  57. 57.

    piratedan

    I liken her to The Road Runner and the WH Press Corp as a collection of Wile E. Coyotes, certified geniuses.

    I really am not surprised by the antics by the usual suspects from Faux and the remainder of the RW echo chamber.  What I am disappointed with is the RW framing/narratives attempting to be set by the remainder of the erstwhile “legit” news agencies from their reporters.  I wonder are these questions actually coming from their own selves or are they being generated from nameless/faceless producers who are responsible for the decrepit state of journalism today.

  59. 59.

    debbie

    @piratedan:

    It really is ridiculous. I listened (for maybe a minute) to a diatribe that Biden’s schedule is empty and he’s not doing anything and how Trump was a dynamic hard worker with a schedule filled from 10:30am to 8:00 pm.

    It’s not even truth shading or perception reframing. Its total, fucking lies.

  60. 60.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @piratedan: The disease that is Broderism is pandemic in the Village.  They need to be quarantined on a rocketship to the Sun.

  61. 61.

    Geminid

    @Mike in NC: Beck is still around, but I think his audience is in decline. Brian Kilmead took over Beck’s slot on one of the radio stations here in central Virginia, and I suspect this is not the only place. I just wish someone could knock Dennis Praegar out of his afternoon spot here. What a grouch!

  62. 62.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Skepticat: C.J. Cregg, and yes, during her very first news conference I fell in love, because she’s got C.J.’s attitude and demeanor.  Allison Janney’s portrayal of the ideal WH Press Secretary set the standard, and Jen more than lives up to that standard.

  64. 64.

    Barbara

    @piratedan: At least as far as network television is concerned, their demographic trends are not as bad but not dissimilar to Fox News.  Still, it is just vomit inducing, the degree to which mostly white media types find it acceptable to pull out the “scary brown people” card anytime they think it might goose ratings.

  65. 65.

    Sloane Petersons knee therapist

    Current WH Press Corps be like Patty Hearst. After being locked in a closet for a protracted period of time they are now ready to walk into the Bank of Biden with guns drawn demanding all his press conferences in an unmarked bag. NOW!

  69. 69.

    MagdaInBlack

    @Geminid: Beck has a show on “TheBlaze” which I think is subscription. By the look of his fancy schmancy studio on youtube, he’s doin’ ok.  He has captured the nutbag market.

  70. 70.

    Barbara

    @raven: ​I have lost all enthusiasm for March Madness and NCAA Div 1 high dollar sports in general. I realized a few years ago as the pool guru in my office pestered people to get their brackets filled in that I was in a position to make more out of the basketball tournament than the players. I just can’t keep watching.

  71. 71.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Sloane Petersons knee therapist: ​Be nice if you could blame it on Stuckhome Syndrome but the degeneration of journalism into urinalism** long predates “CHIPping” (Cowering Helplessly In Place) as practiced since early 2020.

    Mostly those mooks crave the fame and fortune of “Woodstein” but lack the perseverance to do the necessary digging, the perspicuity to recognize a significant result if it hit them full in the chops, and the fluency to write anything up in comprehensible terms. As Lenny Bruce prescribed: Unscrew ’em.

    ** Whose practitioners wave their wordy willies around in public whilst pissing on everything hoping to make a big splash…​

  72. 72.

    Matt McIrvin

    Jen Psaki is a William and Mary alum–it helps rehabilitate the reputation of my alma mater, since the last person in the news it produced was James Comey.

  73. 73.

    NotMax

    @Villago Delenda Est

    Some of us remember Jerald terHorst stepping down as press secretary following Ford’s pardon of Nixon. Also George Reedy relinquishing the position over disagreement with LBJ’s Vietnam policies.

  75. 75.

    Geminid

    @MagdaInBlack: Beck made plenty of money in the Obama years. He may be down, but he’s not out, at least not financially. His move to a subscription model may be because sponsors are wary of him. He is a credulous man, and repeats a lot of lies. That’s what knocked him off of Fox News.

  76. 76.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Pod Save America did a quiz in I think Monday’s pod in which Lovett read questions asked either by the press corps or ordinary people at a town hall. The other two had to guess which and I was shockingly easy. The ordinary people’s questions were so much better. The press corps asked questions like one starting “Politics is reporting that.”

  77. 77.

    Doc Sardonic

    @The Moar You Know: The Brits don’t Pasteurize their eggs so they do not need refrigeration. Both processes mess with the chemical composition of the egg with regard to sulfur, and even though we Pasteurize here if they don’t properly handle the eggs afterward you will still get salmonella.

  78. 78.

    MattF

    @Doc Sardonic: That… doesn’t sound like a great idea. Problem is that people tend to get a number of different, potentially serious, eye problems at the same time. Maybe once you’ve got a treatment plan.

  79. 79.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @NotMax: Yup, I remember that.  terHorst’s problem was not just with the action itself, but how he got blindsided by Ford.

  80. 80.

    Doc Sardonic

    @MattF: They have tried this before. The Florida Board of Optometry wants their non medically trained members to be able to do all the things that Ophthalmologists are able to do including surgery and prescribing opioids.

  82. 82.

    Another Scott

    One for Amir and the other guitarists out there, in case you’re interested and unaware.  A sponsored-ad/story on AndroidPolice on Deplike. Includes a 30% off coupon.

    (Not a recommendation – just a pointer. I don’t do guitar stuff myself.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  84. 84.

    Patricia Kayden

    The media is very concerned about the border but not concerned enough to hound conservatives into getting off their racist asses to help Democrats fix all the shit the GOP fcked up with Trump's immigration and border policy.— Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) March 21, 2021

  88. 88.

    Dan B

    Watching Margaret Brennan and Martha Radditz repeat anti-immigrant (brown, of course) talking points: kids, unaccompanied kids, surge, out of control, etc. (add exclamation points, or not, your choice)  The solutions proposed receive zero to little pushback.  It’s clear the Border  Patrol and their RWNJ political boosters want to go back to closed borders and “deterrence”.  There is no push to get these anti-immigrants to spell out effective solutions to the current situation.

    At the same time they are upset about violence against Asians.  Why is there no connection made between hatred of Asians and brown asylum seekers?  Why no questioning of the talking point of “applying for asylum in place”, ie. go to Honduras to apply if you are from Guatemala.

    How are Asians supposed to be safe and how are people from Central and South America to stay safe?  How likely is it for them to find refuge in a foreign country but not the US?

    The DHS director needed Jen Psaki to cut through the Gordian Knot of dogwhistle racism woven into the MSM / Country Club framing.

  90. 90.

    Ruckus

    @Kristine:

    They like what they know.  Selfish, racist, ignorant.

    They like what they see in the mirror. Selfish, racist, ignorant.

    They aren’t mentally any older than that 3 yr old kid, no matter what it says on their DL.

    Look at the people that showed up on Jan 6th, salt of the earth, after it’s been on the road for a week and run over by trucks repeatedly.

    Look at their political leaders. All of them like a bad Junior HS class president. And that’s the best they can do.

  91. 91.

    debbie

    @raven:

    I know how much OSU is hated, but did you hear their lead scorer (who I guess had a lousy day that last game) is getting all kinds of racist messages and death threats? Assholes.

  92. 92.

    Doc Sardonic

    @Ken: I think the Chiropractors tried at one point to get prescribing rights for every thing beyond diagnostic imaging a few years back and had a small success in that they now have to employ or partner with a Physicians Assistant, Nurse Practitioner or MD to write the scripts but only the MD can sign off on the controlled substances.

  94. 94.

    Ruckus

    @Suzanne:

    I’ll be. I never knew the asshole was invisible. To me it’s like he’s got a very bright red neon sign, right over his shoulder that lights up ASSHOLE! whenever his lips move….

  96. 96.

    Another Scott

    @debbie: Relatedly, an incident at a local HS football game on March 5…

    BlueVirginia:

    I go to Wakefield high . We went to Marshall I school . Yes we were mad because we were losing but we wanted the game to end and go home. A white player from Marshall spits on a black male from my team results in a fight that could have been prevented. Share this video.

    Kids aren’t automatically work. And it only takes a handful to cause major problems.

    It’s good the school systems are taking this seriously.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  97. 97.

    Doc Sardonic

    @MattF: Yep…..They want the big insurance $$$, they are not happy with only the exam, eyeglasses, and contact lenses insurance money.

  98. 98.

    debbie

    @Another Scott:

    There were a couple of dust-ups after George Floyd’s murder when “fans” admonished football players to stick to sports. Mindless assholes. The players “fought” (tweeted) back, which was good to see.

  99. 99.

    Geminid

    Those interested in the Afgan war would do well to check out an article put up by Politico, about Secretary of Defense Austin’s visit to Afghanistan yesterday. There is now a question as to whether the U.S. will still withdraw all troops from the country by May 1, as agreed to by the Taliban and the trump administration.

    Austin did not say if we would or would not withdraw by that date. But when asked about the Taliban’s threats to attack Americans if they stay beyond May 1, Austin said that it is the right of every commander to defend his troops, and that General Miller, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, had more than adequate means to do this. As spring comes, the Afghan fighting season begins, and it looks like this one will be violent.

  102. 102.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid: ​

     

    … I think Jen Psaki looks just fine.

    I agree completely, as we say here in my locale, “Finest kind!”

    Attractive, smart, fast on her feet, honest and well prepared~!!~

    What’s not to like?

    And Amir, what the heck is with some Indonesian Muslims launching an attack based upon the oldest trick in the book, pork materials in a life-saving medication that apparently don’t exist?

    So strange!! Republicans in the SE Asia area?!?!!

  104. 104.

    Another Scott

    @Geminid: Relatedly, …

    I don’t know where to fucking begin with this. But I sure do remember talking with someone who chose to work for the military in Iraq as he was at the Baghdad airport hearing that the Muslim ban meant the people he aided at risk to his life didn’t give a fuck about him. https://t.co/6vCEWJfqsX

    — REMOTE SCHOOL PROCTOR (@attackerman) March 21, 2021

    The show clip is rather cringe-inducing. But who knows.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  105. 105.

    BruceFromOhio

    Smart, talented, capable, deferential when appropriate, tough as nails the rest of the time, and a sense of humor to boot.

    “We like that word. It’s a good word. A solid word.” – Jen Psaki commenting on the use of ‘reiterate’

  106. 106.

    Another Scott

    For the roadies and roadie-adjacent.

    What an interesting story! Roadies, benched when the pandemic put a stop to concert tours, have been meeting in online support groups to help each other deal with the unfamiliar ways of static life — and what comes next.

    I cannot wait to attend a concert. https://t.co/K9JJbLfagT

    — Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) March 21, 2021

    (Points to a FTFNYT story. Dunno if going there via Twitter counts against one’s free monthly stash.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  108. 108.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl: “Are you a corporate shill for Big Lunch or Big Dinner?  Many peoples are asking.”

    “Is ‘many people’s’ that orange assclown who’s afraid of stairs and ramps?”

    Sheepishly “Yes.”

    “GTFO!”

  109. 109.

    Jay

    They are not electing their best and brightest or maybe they are? pic.twitter.com/Hdbqoh4TGc— Molly Jong-Fast? (@MollyJongFast) March 21, 2021

    The proper way to show a RQP tweet is to screenshot it, that way you don’t increase their retweets, plus if they delete it, because it’s so moronic, you have the shot,

    As Molly Jung-Fast has done.

  110. 110.

    Amir Khalid

    @J R in WV:
    Search me. In Malaysia the equivalent to the Indonesian Ulema Council is state Religious Departments, which advise the Malay Rulers who are the titular heads of relihgion in their state. The consensus among religious authorities here is that Muslims should get vaccinated. If there’s anything not quite halal in the vaccines, the emergency exception — don’t risk your life to keep halal — applies.

  115. 115.

    Geminid

    @Amir Khalid: There seem to be religious leaders bucking the authority of higher-ups everywhere. In Israel, top Ultra-Orthodox rabbis have pronounced the Covid vaccine as neccesary and conforming to Jewish law. One rabbi, though, called the epidemic a fake crisis engineered by Bill Gates and the Freemasons, and warned his followers that the vaccine “can make them gay.” The Jerusalem Post asked the Israeli LGBTQ advocacy group Havruta about this. Their response: “We are currently gearing up to welcome our impending new members.”

  117. 117.

    divF

    @WaterGirl: One of the things that I have noticed over the last few years is a power look for women based on strong solid colors (jewel tones?). Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi are prominent examples.

    It kinda sucks that the options for men are so much more constrained. The only color we are allowed is in ties, and not much there really.

  118. 118.

    randy khan

    @Skepticat:

    I’ve said this before, but the C.J. vibes are very strong, which is particularly impressive considering that Janney wasn’t saying those things spontaneously, but had a whole room of writers to come up with them for her.  (Although I’ve seen Janney doing interviews, and she *is* pretty clever, if not quite that clever.)

  121. 121.

    Starboard Tack

    @Barbara:

    ​I have lost all enthusiasm for March Madness and NCAA Div 1 high dollar sports in general.

    I’m not quite that turned off. I’m not watching this year, maybe next. It’s hard for me to overlook that major college sports are a peonage system that rewards few players with professional sports careers. White players generally benefit from getting a college education, but many of the players from minority groups are discarded when they are no longer useful.

  126. 126.

    TriassicSands

    This may be the last comment in this thread, but I just want to say, what a refreshing change Psaki is from the automated liars of the Trump administration. Ms. Psaki has a genuinely open, pleasant demeanor and she is obviously intelligent and articulate. Contrast that to the perpetually sour Sarah Sanders or the aggressively, laughably, dishonest McEnany.

    Psaki seems to be as good as anyone Biden has chosen for any position in his administration.

  128. 128.

    Freemark

    @Doc Sardonic: ​
      We generally don’t pasteurize shell eggs here in the US. They are washed which is why they need refrigeration. In Europe they don’t wash them so they keep their natural protective sealing ‘varnish’.

  131. 131.

    J R in WV

    @Amir Khalid:

    the emergency exception — don’t risk your life to keep halal — applies.

    That’s what I would have thought. Same as Kosher for Jewish folks, don’t starve to death just to keep Kosher. No explaining crazy, is there?

  133. 133.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    BOBCAT NATION PRESENT

    Is Goldthwait running for President?

  134. 134.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    I’m old enough to remember when Obama was nearly impeached when it was revealed he didn’t drink coffee.

Comments are closed.