I suppose if White House reporters did their jobs, I wouldn't have mine, but that doesn't make it less alarming that they continue to be so incompetent and agenda-driven.
Today's peach came from Fox "News" "reporter" Jacqui Heinrich, who would do very poorly in a test designed by Pavlov. Truly, how many times has Jen Psaki humiliated people in the press room for making "people are saying" assertions?
"The president has frequently talked about getting out of Afghanistan as a major event, it has impacted his polling, this is a current event that is underway, the question is, what does the administration say to critics who are looking at these two events and question this administration's foreign policy approach?" asked Heinrich.
"Who is questioning us? Give me names," said Psaki.
Here we go.
"Plenty of Republicans," said Heinrich.
"Like who?"
"I could name off any number of Republicans," answered Heinrich.
Well, sh*t, so can I. Abraham Lincoln, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Phyllis Schlafly, but none of them would be the right answer, would they?
"I'd love to know a name," stated Psaki.
"Goodness. Mitch McConnell," said Heinrich, clearly inconvenienced at having to back up a baseless assertion with a proper noun.
"Okay, well, here's what I would say to Mr. McConnell," Psaki began. "The president ended a twenty-year war in Afghanistan, a war that had cost us thousands of American lives, billions, trillions of dollars, and was a failed enterprise after twenty years. He was the first president to do that after many of his predecessors failed to take exactly that step. We knew it would be complicated. We knew it would be challenging. He had the courage to get our troops out of there and end a twenty-year war," treating this alleged reporter to an explanation she'd neither asked for nor deserved.
"This is entirely different, because we are not ending a twenty-year war," Psaki continued, because things need to be spelled out verrrrry clearly for Fox people. Not that they won't twist the words, anyhow, but Psaki always gives it the college try.
"We're trying to prevent war, here. We're trying to keep American citizens safe in Ukraine by encouraging them to depart, by providing them information about what the security circumstances are on the ground. I think it's important for the American public to understand the significant difference between these different scenarios," she concluded, before moving on to the next person.
What Psaki did NOT do, however, is humiliate Heinrich with the fact that Mitch McConnell has not, in fact, been critical of Pres. Biden's handling of the situation in Ukraine. Au contraire. He's expressed support. According to multiple news outlets, only 2 weeks ago McConnell said, "It appears to me that the administration is moving in the right direction." He was encouraged they were moving to take steps before an incursion happens.
So, does that mean Heinrich — oh, I don't know — was making things up? Didn't know what she was talking about? Trying to create a narrative based on zero knowledge or facts to suit her Fox overlords?
All of the above, would be my guess.
