Jen Psaki shuts down Fox News reporter’s loaded question with info bomb about Trump admin

Fresh from being thoroughly demolished by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in yesterday’s press briefing, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy returned to the fray today for another confrontation with the Biden administration’s top spokesperson.

When Doocy’s turn to ask a question came, he immediately displayed the central hypocrisy in right-wing criticism of the administration’s efforts during the withdrawal of American troops and the at-risk Afghan citizens who acted as translators and facilitators for our military during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.

With Fox News and other conservative media outlets simultaneously denouncing the efforts to remove these desperate Afghans — people who are afraid of retaliation by the Taliban who likely view them as traitors for their cooperation with the infidels — as too slow and inadequate while strenuously objecting against the idea of actually offering them refuge in our own nation, Doocy’s exchange with Psaki offered the administration the opportunity to present their own, more congruous, interpretation of the facts on the ground.

Doocy tried to hold both diametrically opposed opinions at once as he asked the press secretary if the evacuation efforts were failing in their struggle to meet the August 31st withdrawal deadline while complaining that one Aghan evacuee has suspected terrorist ties.

Psaki quickly reminded the Fox News reporter that there is already a “stringent vetting process” in place before any evacuees are allowed to set foot on U.S. territory.

She also defended the massive U.S. effort to remove American citizens, Afghan partners, and allies from the country now controlled by the Taliban, saying:

“I would say that this is now on track, Peter, to be largest airlift in US history … so no, I would not say that is anything but a success.”

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You can watch the exchange at this link:

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1430261067377152002?s=20

That wasn’t enough for Doocy, who, in a follow-up question, asked whether Biden was kowtowing to the Taliban by adhering to their pre-negotiated deadline for withdrawal.

Psaki then reminded the Fox News correspondent of the original deadline set by the former guy when he negotiated directly with the Taliban while excluding the Afghan government from the talks, a factor that many believe was the cause for the unexpectedly rapid fall of the nation to the Islamic fundamentalists.

The press secretary was also quick to emphasize that President Biden’s primary focus has been and always will be “the safety and security” of the American military, attempting to undercut Doocy’s insinuations to the contrary.

Here’s a link to a video of that section of the briefing:

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1430259708242235395?s=20

Psaki also made an extraordinary effort to counter accusations that the administration was leaving Americans stranded in Kabul by offering to personally forward the contact information of any person that the assembled journalists to those who can help them.

Psaki: If we are not in touch with this individual, give me their contact information and we’ll will get in touch with them. If any of you are hearing from American citizens who can’t reach us, give me their contact information and we will get in contact with them pic.twitter.com/8KRjOZxxNv

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 24, 2021

Vinnie Longobardo

Managing Editor

Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art.