As Friday the 13 approached, White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s final day with the Biden administration, she reflected on her time at the podium and some of her more memorable exchanges with reporters, especially Fox News’ Peter Doocy.
In remarks during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Psaki reflected on her and Doocy’s “healthy debates and discussions.”
When asked if she would miss him, Psaki admitted: “I will.”
“I will tell you, and people know this who are in the White House every day, I think we have a very good, professional relationship,” she added.
“I understand that he’s coming there to ask questions every day that are important to report at the outlet he works for,” she continued. “And I respect that and we have healthy debates and discussions.
“Doesn’t mean I agree with his line of questioning on most days,” Psaki — who is leaving for a position at rival network MSNBC — continued. “But I think that’s, I’ve called on him every day he’s been there or a Fox person, Jacqui Heinrich, who’s been there a lot as well. And I think sending the message to the country that we’re not — we’re not focused here on a fight with Fox.
“We’re focused here on the work of the American people,” she noted further.
WATCH: Christian Science Monitor (@csmonitor) breakfast with @PressSec Jen Psaki https://t.co/bDskIbukfk pic.twitter.com/7zlwqLCN9B
— CSPAN (@cspan) May 12, 2022
Earlier, when she announced her replacement, Karine Jean-Pierre, Doocy said: “Thank you, Jen. Sorry to see you go.”
“Are you?” Psaki coyly responded, to laughter in the room.
“Yes, and you’ve always been a good sport. So, on behalf of everybody, thank you for everything,” Doocy replied.
“Thank you. As have you,” she said.
Fox News' Peter Doocy: “Thank you, Jen. Sorry to see you go.”
Psaki: “Are you?”
Doocy: “Yes, and you’ve always been a good sport.” pic.twitter.com/cPGGlUa6vA
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 5, 2022
Not surprisingly, Psaki has gotten her share of criticism, including from some of those who came before her.
Just last week, former President Donald Trump’s second press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is currently running for governor of Arkansas, following in her father’s footsteps, offered a critical take over the Biden official’s “mind-boggling hypocrisy” in regards to reports that leftists plan to harass conservative Supreme Court justices at their homes.
Her criticism came amid threats by left-wing groups to show up at the homes of those justices after they reportedly signed on to a draft ruling written in February by Justice Samuel Alito overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in all states.
The White House at the time had refused to condemn those organizations or defend the justices and the country’s judicial process.
“It’s truly mind-boggling to see the hypocrisy of the left. I was constantly asked to condemn every action that ever took place anywhere in the country and yet, this White House never seems to step up and do that,” she said.
Last week, Doocy asked Psaki if she thought the harassment of justices was “extreme.”
“Do you think that progressive activists that are now planning protests outside some of the justice’s houses are extreme?” he asked
“Peaceful protest? No, peaceful protest is not extreme,” Psaki responded.
“Some of these justices have young kids,” Doocy fired back. “Their neighbors are not all public figures. So would the president think about waving off activists who want to go into residential neighborhoods in Virginia and Maryland?”
Psaki said, “I think our view here is that peaceful protests — there’s a long history in the United States in the country of that. And we’ve certainly encouraged people to keep it peaceful and not resort to any level of violence.”
Doocy pressed: “These activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices. Is that the kind of thing the president wants to help your side make their point?”
“The president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” she said.
“We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”
