CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Thursday repeatedly confronted White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about President Joe Biden’s voting comments during a White House briefing a day earlier.
The relentlessly baked Psaki gets on the air of CNN – a network she used to work as an online contributor – in stark contrast to. surprisingly friendly and friendly conversation she was only a few hours earlier on cable giant Fox News.
Tapper, who was very critical of the president’s remarks next Biden’s Marathon Press on Wednesday, start the Thursday afternoon interview by asking questions Psaki’s recent cleanup effort.
“This morning, you said that President Biden had ‘no doubt’ about the potential legitimacy of the 2022 election if the electoral reform bills weren’t passed – and of course, they weren’t. past,” the CNN host noted before airing Biden’s comments.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be legal,” Tapper added, quoting the chairman. “I mean, he didn’t say it would be legal. That’s pretty obvious.”
Opponents of Biden said the president’s “intention” was not to predict that the 2022 midterm elections would be illegitimate. Instead, according to Psaki, Biden is “trying to convey” the efforts of former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election.
“We need to be clear about that possibility or try to do that and educate voters, make sure they know what their rights are,” she continued. “That’s what we’re going to focus on moving forward.”
Tapper, however, was not satisfied with Psaki’s canned answer.
“He directly tied the legitimacy of the November election to the electoral reform bills that failed last night. He was asked an obvious question and said it depends,” he replied before playing another clip of Biden’s press conference remarks.
“I mean, not the correct answer [to] “If this is not passed, do you believe the upcoming election will be conducted fairly and legally,” the answer is not “Yes, it will be conducted fairly and legally?” “Tapper then emphasized the White House spokesman.
“That’s his point, Jake,” Psaki replied.
After calling for Tapper’s “extensive reporting” of the January 6 uprising and Trump’s election lies, Psaki again said that Biden was “trying to convey” that “voters need to be discerning and need to be aware and educated about what is facing them. She also said the president is communicating the need to educate voters and the need to continue to protect voters.
Tapper, still did not buy the press secretary’s explanation.
“So I see there are efforts at the state level — this is also what the president is trying to tie down — efforts at the state level to make it harder to vote. Certainly some of that was born out of the ‘Big Lie’. Some are nefarious. Some election officials say we are not in the middle of a pandemic, as we were in November 2020,” the veteran journalist stated.
“My bigger question is, if we say that no election is legal if there are efforts to suppress the vote, has there ever been a legal election in this country? ?” Tapper asked. “Try to stop the American votes that have taken place since the founding of this country.”
Psaki again asserted “that’s not what we’re talking about,” noting that Americans “should be confident in the protections that we will continue to enforce.” At the same time, she said it was “not too long ago” when Trump tried to reverse Biden’s election victory.
“That is different from trying to suppress the vote. We need to fight against both,” she noted.
“But he’s not saying that elections will be legal and I’m going to be there to make sure they’re legal and we’re going to fight and you need to turn out and vote,” Tapper countered. “He basically refuses to say it, unequivocally, they would be legal.”
He also pointed out that Vice President Kamala Harris Nor will it say that future election results will be legal in an interview Thursday morning. Instead, Harris turned to criticism of the Senate’s failure to pass voting rights legislation.
“So I hear what you’re saying, but you don’t seem to be on the same page as the president and vice president,” he stated bluntly.
After turning to the criticism Biden has received for pointing out that the US would be fine with a “mini-invasion” of Russia—Another problem Psaki spent Thursday trying to clean up — Tapper finished the roast by offering an olive branch.
“White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, will earn a paycheck this week,” he concluded. “Thank you very much.”
