These people can’t keep doing this!
When asked about the criticism surrounding President Biden’s Atlanta speech on voting rights, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki chose to dismiss the criticism, rather focusing on former President Trump’s shortcomings.
During Wednesday’s daily White House press briefing, a reporter questioned Psaki about Senator Mitt Romney’s (R-UT.) criticism of President Biden for dividing Americans with Tuesday’s speech in Atlanta. The speech Romney tackled included statements by President Biden equating those who did not support Dems’ voting rights legislation to segregationists.
Addressing Biden’s speech in a speech on the Senate floor, Senator Romney said Biden was going “down the same tragic road taken by President Trump” by “casting doubt on the reliability of American elections.” Romney went on to say that he had expected more from President Biden, “who came into office with the stated goal of bringing the country together.”
Psaki was dismissive in her response, choosing to redirect the question to point out Trump’s remarks about the 2020 presidential election rather than directly tackle criticism leveled at Biden’s speech.
She said that Biden’s speech where he made “objectively true statements” was night and day to Trump’s remarks “fomenting an insurrection based on lies.” The Press Secretary continued by saying that she was aware of the claims “of the offensive nature of the speech” but said it was “hilarious on many levels” since people had “sat silently” during Trump’s four years as President.
Although Biden’s speech contained several distasteful and offensive remarks, Psaki pointed out that the President believed that “the effort to suppress people’s basic right to exercise who they want to support… and elect” was “far more offensive.”
Her response was met with fierce pushback, as many took to social media to express their frustration, some calling her an embarrassment. Others highlighted that despite Psaki’s claiming he “sat silently,” Romney voted to convict the former President during both impeachment trials.
