In a recent interview for an episode of the podcast Pod Save America, White House press secretary Jen Psaki memorably went after Fox News and the network’s high-profile White House journalist, Peter Doocy — who has, throughout Joe Biden’s time in office, repeatedly ended up publicly at odds with Psaki during White House press briefings. Regarding Doocy, podcast co-host Dan Pfeiffer asked Psaki, “Is he a stupid son of a bitch or does he play a stupid son of a bitch on TV?” His question hearkened back to an infamous hot mic moment when Biden himself referred to Doocy as a “stupid son of a bitch” after the reporter asked if Biden thought inflation would come back to haunt Democratic prospects in the midterm elections. (Biden apologized for the remark.) Psaki, meanwhile, replied as follows:
‘[Doocy] works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual, including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch.’
From Day One, every action I’ve taken to rebuild our economy has been guided by one principle: Make it in America.
That means using products, parts, and materials built right here in the United States of America.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 14, 2022
Fox journalist John Roberts actually publicly responded to Psaki’s comments, saying that Doocy “makes the decisions on what topics he wants to quiz [Psaki] on, and develops the questions himself. His philosophy is a basic tenet of journalism. Comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. If that makes all of us “stupid s.o.b.s”, so be it.” What a melodramatic reaction. Maybe if Fox dealt with issues like the drumbeat of rhetoric coming out of Tucker Carlson’s highly watched, primetime show that props up Russian authoritarian Vladimir Putin even amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Roberts would be in a better position to authoritatively speak about “basic tenets of journalism” in the context of his employer.
Today, we learned that in March, twelve states hit record low unemployment. More families than ever before — in states from Alaska to Wisconsin — have a little more breathing room.
We’re not letting up.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 15, 2022
Some of Doocy’s recent hits — meaning profoundly ignorant questions — have targeted LGBTQ individuals, such as his April 4 inquiry to Psaki: “In some places like the Ivy League, now there are biological males competing against women. Does the White House think that is fair?” He was attempting to refer to transgender women, obscuring — among other issues — the fact that there’s a considerable range in physical capabilities among non-transgender individuals, making his question somewhat moot since the supposed factors (such as physical differences) leading to a lack of fairness are already parts of the process. Overall, right-wing obsessions with basically hunting down transgender athletes remain profoundly disturbing.
American manufacturing is coming back. And when we build more in America, it increases our economic capacity and helps lower everyday prices for families.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 14, 2022
At the time, Psaki responded, “Well, I would note that we’re not the governing body for the NCAA… I believe you’re probably referring to the case over swimming in the NCAA. We understand how important sports are to student athletes across the country. But the NCAA obviously puts these policies in place… At a moment where we’re looking at and we’re seeing increased mental health issues related to young people, especially LGBTQ+ young people, we’re providing additional funding and resources to address this issue. And we hope all leaders can focus on those important issues and the impact on many of these young people who are impacted across the country.”
Jen Psaki is asked if “Peter Doocy is a stupid son of a bitch or does he just play one on tv:”
“He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch.” pic.twitter.com/2FYMPX12Rr
— Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) April 15, 2022
