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One of his predecessors, Sean Spicer, achieved world fame, now Jen Psaki takes over the White House press room. And immediately make it clear that the tone is now changing.
“Uh-huh-huh,” Jen Psaki says, like she’s stepping out of an ice bath. Shake it well before it starts. Two sliding doors separate Psaki from the James S. Brady press conference room at the White House. The two-minute warning for waiting journalists has just been issued. A quick and relaxed dance with her assistant Karine Jean-Pierre. Then Psaki opens the doors. Jean-Pierre sits in one of the side chairs. Psaki, 42, walks up to the wooden desk with the words “The White House, Washington.” Show a video of “The Circus” on Showtime.
It is January 20th. Just over seven hours earlier, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. That same night, the new White House press spokeswoman holds her first press conference.
Psaki is not a new face in Washington. She was head of communications in the White House under Barack Obama and spokesperson for his Foreign Minister, John Kerry. At that time she could still wander around Washington without being recognized. Now she is the face of the Biden Harris government.
“Okay,” says Jen Psaki. The sentence could become your trademark.
Photo: AFP
The same was true of his three predecessors, who served as press secretary under Donald Trump. Starting with Sean Spicer through Sarah Huckabee-Sanders and Stephanie Grisham to Kayleigh McEnany. His press conferences weren’t reasonable for all journalists. There were yelling, scolding, insults, and lies.
Sean Spicer set the tone for this with his first press conference the day after Trump’s inauguration in 2017. The only problem: the number of people who watched Trump’s inauguration ceremony. An angry Spicer said it was the largest gathering ever recorded for the occasion. “Point!” The photos prove otherwise.
Psaki says, “Okay.” Under Trump, the press remained “the enemy of the people.” Press conferences became an event over time because they were so rare. It so happened that the speakers left the podium after a brief statement without allowing questions. Many seasoned reporters have been excluded from press conferences due to “inappropriate” questions. It was not normal. How almost everything about the Trump presidency was abnormal.
Jen Psaki makes it clear with her first words in the new office that this is a thing of the past: “When the president asked me to serve him in this role, we discussed the importance of bringing truth and transparency back to the press room.” “She says. No emotion, no pathos. But with a question of steel, of course.”
And for those who have become too used to the chaos of the last four years, he explains: “There will be times when we will see things in this room differently. It’s okay. It is part of our democracy. “
“Okay”: the phrase could become Psaki’s trademark. Political disagreements are not grounds for verbal warfare. But it’s okay. Tough questions aren’t a personal attack on anyone, but it’s okay to start.
“Okay,” he said when asked two days later how confident the administration was that it would get the necessary votes in Congress for its $ 1.9 trillion crown aid package. Psaki explains the democratic process as if it needed to refresh lost knowledge. The government presented a proposal. In Congress, the parties look at it. “They like some parts, they don’t like other parts.” In the end, the compromise may not look exactly like the first proposal. But, says Psaki: “Okay.”
In the press room, unlike in the Trump era, it doesn’t matter whether the question comes from CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, or Fox News. Although some on Fox News just seem to be waiting for Psaki to make a mistake. Her White House correspondent Peter Doocy once accidentally called her Steve. Steve Doocy is the father of Peter Doocy and host of Trump’s favorite show “Fox and Friends.” Psaki’s misstep was largely dismantled there.
Peter Doocy has already managed to embarrass Psaki. For example, with the question, which was not done at all wrong why Biden didn’t actually wear a mask in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial on opening night. Shortly after Biden enacted a blanket mask requirement on federal property. Psaki was not prepared for the question. Biden just celebrated, he said. And that there are probably “bigger problems” in the country. It’s certainly not the most elegant answer. But so cool in office, okay.
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