Jen Psaki Fires Off Vulgar Attack on Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy
White House press secretary Jen Psaki trashed Fox News and its White House correspondent, Peter Doocy, in a podcast interview.
During a Thursday recording of “Pod Save America,” the discussion turned to a January hot mic comment in which President Joe Biden, irked by a Doocy question, called the reporter a “stupid son of a b****.”
Psaki was asked whether that comment was an accurate summation of Doocy or “does he just play a stupid son of a b**** on TV?”
She replied, “He works for a network that provides people with questions that — nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy — but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a b****.”
Politico reporter Eugene Daniels posted the exchange on Twitter before the podcast aired.
WARNING: The following tweets contain vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
Jen Psaki is asked if “Peter Doocy is a stupid son of a bitch or does he just play one on tv:”
“He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch.” pic.twitter.com/2FYMPX12Rr
— Eugene Daniels (@EugeneDaniels2) April 15, 2022
Many rebuked Psaki.
Red State’s Stephen Miller noted that she “has signed an MSNBC hosting deal while still at her job and is out doing a media tour and zero journalists have a problem with this.”
The White House Press Secretary has signed an MSNBC hosting deal while still at her job and is out doing a media tour and zero journalists have a problem with this. https://t.co/JpUR0uA0ge
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 15, 2022
That point was hammered home by Breitbart’s Charlie Sperling, who commented that “Jen Psaki, who has lined up a MSNBC gig, lashes out at rival network, while getting paid by taxpayers.”
Jen Psaki, who has lined up a MSNBC gig, lashes out at rival network, while getting paid by taxpayers https://t.co/jvSTDjvqXt
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) April 15, 2022
Meghan McCain twisted the knife even further, commenting that Fox News is “the only cable network Jen Psaki hasn’t negotiated a fat check with to go work for. How is language like this toward @pdoocy ‘respecting everyone’ and ‘healing the soul of America.'”
During the podcast, Psaki — who is expected to jump to MSNBC — refused to confirm when she would be leaving.
But in commenting upon her appearance in a piece for Mediaite, Colby Hall said the White House press secretary crossed a line amid the open secret of her future employment plans.
“The bottom line is that Jen Psaki is a government employee who is openly criticizing a media outlet that is the competitor of her future employer,” Hall wrote.
“If Psaki has a ‘handshake deal’ to join NBC after she officially leaves the briefing room podium, then she should reasonably be far more circumspect in not just her future briefings, but in any public appearance in which she is asked about competitors of her future employer.”
Moments later in the segment, Psaki offered a more nuanced assessment of Doocy as a person in reference to Biden’s name-calling episode, according to a clip shared by the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
She talked about Doocy’s comments when he went on Fox News’ “Hannity” to report that Biden had called him.
“So he went on TV that night and I actually watched Sean Hannity to see what he said. My mind was like really bending and hurting,” Psaki said.
“If you can imagine, it was like flames and it was like “Crime! Crime! Crime!” and Kamala [Harris] — the vice president is like walking through the flames and crime. I don’t even know what was happening.”
“But Sean Hannity asked him about, you know, what the president had said and what he said back. And he could have been like, ‘He’s a son of a b****’ or ‘I’m standing up for …’ whatever, he would have said anything,” she said.
“And instead he said, ‘You know, he called me, we had a really nice conversation, I’m just asking my questions, he’s doing his job,'” Psaki said.
“So I will say, that was a moment of grace. You don’t have to like everything Peter Doocy says or does, but that was certainly a moment of grace by Peter Doocy,” she said.
UPDATE, April 18, 2022: In a statement to The Western Journal, a Fox News representative said, “In his role as White House correspondent, Peter Doocy’s job is to elicit truth from power for the American public. His questions are his own, he is a terrific reporter and we are extremely proud of his work.”
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