Former White House press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Monday defended President Biden’s debate preparation team, saying the commander in chief’s performance was “terrible.”
Psaki’s comments came following multiple reports that Biden’s family was blaming his staff for the president’s shaky performance at the debate.
“While there are many important discussions and debates about the political situation we find ourselves in and the path forward, the idea that what was at stake in the debates was the preparation process by people like Ronald Klain and Anita Dunn, who have successfully prepared many candidates, including Obama, Clinton and Biden, is absurd,” Psaki wrote to X.
She added, “It was a terrible debate. There’s no doubt they were tough, strategic and forthright (I’ve witnessed them in action), but preparation doesn’t always determine the outcome. Biden was terrible. It’s an important conversation about what happens next, but if you direct your anger at ‘preparation’ then you’re not talking about the right thing.”
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday defended President Biden’s debate preparation team, emphasizing that the commander in chief’s performance was simply “bad.” (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Could Biden be removed from the Democratic Party nomination list?
At X, Klain thanked Psaki for defending him.
On Sunday, Biden’s wife, children and grandchildren at a rally at Camp David urged him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite his debate performance, but some family members criticized how Biden’s staff had prepared for the debate, The Associated Press reported, citing four people familiar with the discussions.
according to POLITICODuring the debate, the family’s criticism was directed at Anita Dunn, a senior adviser who often has the president’s ear, his husband Bob Bauer, a presidential adviser who played the role of former President Trump in rehearsals at Camp David, and former chief of staff Ron Klain, who ran the debate preparations and sessions during the last election cycle, Politico reported, citing three people who were briefed on the family conversations but not directly involved.
Politico also reported that Biden’s family has complained that he “was not more prepared to go on the offensive, that he was too focused on defending his record rather than laying out a vision for a second term, and that he was overworked and not rested enough.”
First Lady Jill Biden holds President Biden’s hand as they walk off stage in January 2024. (Fox News/Pool)
Biden’s ‘disastrous’ debate performance sparks media mayhem, calls for him to withdraw from 2024 election
The Bidens also questioned why Klain burdened the president with statistics, arguing that Biden had come to the Atlanta debate with a summer tan but appeared pale during the debate because he was wearing makeup, The New York Times reported. reportHe said this citing a source close to the matter.
Other Biden supporters have also criticized his primary team.
John Morgan Top Democratic donors A person close to President Biden’s brother, Frank, publicly criticized his advisers by name for their performance at the debate.
“Biden has been fooled for too long by the values of Anita Dunn and her husband,” Morgan wrote on X Sunday. “They need to resign today. This fraud is terrible. This is political malfeasance.”
“It’s like putting a boxer going into a title fight in a sauna for 15 hours and then saying, ‘Let’s fight,'” Morgan told the Times. “I think the only people in the debate are Ron Klain, Bob Bauer and Anita Dunn.”
Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz defended the advisers in a statement to Politico that was also sent to Fox News Digital, saying, “These advisers have mentored the President and have been with him for years, sometimes decades, watching him through victories and challenges. The President has great confidence in them.”
A senior Biden aide also told Fox News Digital that the complaint claims were “not true.”
President Biden and former President Trump. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson and Evan Vucci)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Psaki’s comments came after Biden’s debate performance was widely criticized by Democratic Party officials and other commentators in the media, leading some to call for Biden to drop out of the race.
Comedian Bill Maher called for Biden to step aside and for another candidate to challenge Trump.
Fox News’ Daniel Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
