White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s suitability for the job and quick wit make it “boring” for reporters trying to squeeze a story out of her during her daily briefings, a new report suggested Friday.
One journalist complained that “chewing” with Psaki over tough questions made people look like “a**holes” compared to the moral authority many reporters felt when challenging Trump administration officials.
“Jen [Psaki] is very good at her job, which is unfortunate,” an unnamed reporter who covered both Trump and Biden told Politico.
“And the work is a lot less rewarding because you no longer protect democracy from it [first Trump Press Secretary] Sean Spicer and his Men’s Wearhouse suit.’
They added, “Jawing with Jen just makes you look like an asshole.”
It’s part of a broader look Politico has taken at media coverage of Donald Trump compared to today’s coverage of President Joe Biden – noting that the latter was a “journalistic sedative” compared to the bombastic and controversial headlines that Trump with his frequent clashes with the press .
A newscaster said there just wasn’t much interest in the White House anymore, despite the reporters’ best efforts.
“It’s not like there’s a lack of attempts — these reporters are there every day trying to get something out of the Biden White House,” the executive said.
“But it’s boring there, it’s not what it was anymore.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki “is very good at her job, which is unfortunate,” an unnamed reporter who covers her daily press briefings confided in Politico
Another executive said Psaki’s daily briefings didn’t pique her interest.
“I can’t think of any [stars]’ they said, according to Friday’s report.
They added, “I don’t really look at the briefings.”
An anonymous journalist described coverage of the Biden administration as “difficult” and “boring.”
“It’s a boring and difficult job. It’s hard being a White House correspondent when you want to break news, it’s so airtight,” they said.
“There’s no Maggie [Haberman]. Who is the Biden administration’s Maggie? It doesn’t exist,” they added, referring to the New York Times reporter who was known for leaking a lot of information about Trump’s White House.
Unlike Trump’s press secretaries, who often saw negative questions devolve into verbal wrestling, Friday’s report notes that Psaki avoids engaging in extended entanglements with reporters.
The reporter said coverage of the White House is less rewarding “because you no longer protect democracy from it.” [first Trump Press Secretary] Sean Spicer and his Men’s Wearhouse suit
Symone Sanders, former press secretary for Vice President Kamala Harris, said the Trump administration’s goal is “to have an antagonistic relationship with the press corps.”
“The goal was to attack, anger and denigrate the press. The Biden team didn’t come into this White House to create a hostile relationship,” Sanders said.
“The reason you haven’t seen these huge clashes that have resulted in media stars is, if you will, that’s not what people aim for when they enter this building.”
She’s also reportedly leaving administration for a television job at MSNBC, though the White House hasn’t confirmed the matter.
When news of Psaki’s reported job change first broke, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim was forced to confront concerned network staff at the Washington, DC bureau.
The NBC exec told employees who feared Psaki would tarnish the brand that she would appear exclusively on left-wing channel MSNBC, according to CNN.
Oppenheim, in his role as head of NBC News, has no control over Biden-friendly MSNBC.
Psaki has been forced to answer ethical concerns about how her reported new appearance will affect her current role behind the White House briefing podium.
“There are a strict set of ethical and legal requirements that are imposed on everyone in this administration, and many administrations have a history of being imposed on any conversations you have with prospective employers,” she said earlier this month.
“That’s true of any industry you work in. I’ve stuck to that and tried to take steps to go beyond that.”
But she didn’t confirm or reveal any plans for after her tenure at the White House ends, instead saying, “Whenever I leave the White House, I can promise you that the first thing I’ll do is sleep and spend time with my three-and-a-half.” Six-year-olds, who are my most important audience of all.
