“This is living democracy”
Biden’s spokeswoman Psaki resigns
05/14/2022, 04:17 am
She wanted to bring integrity, respect and courtesy back to the White House. Under Psaki, spokeswoman for US President Biden, the tone and nature of press briefings are changing after the Trump years. Now she hands over to the first black woman on the post.
Farewell to the briefing room in the White House in Washington: After almost 16 months as spokeswoman for US President Joe Biden, Jen Psaki answered questions from correspondents for the last time. “I promised myself that it wouldn’t get emotional,” said the 43-year-old – who in the meantime still struggled with her feelings. Psaki was one of the prominent faces of the Democrat Biden administration. With the previous vice spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, a black woman takes over the important post for the first time after Psaki.
Psaki’s departure was already apparent in April. She herself did not comment on further career plans. According to media reports, however, she should switch to the liberal television station MSNBC. Psaki thanked the US President and First Lady Jill Biden, her team and the correspondents. “You challenged me, you pushed me, you debated with me, and sometimes we disagreed,” she said. “This is living democracy.” The mother of two young children also thanked her husband.
Psaki went on to say that when she spoke to Biden about her future role after winning the election, it was about “bringing integrity, respect and courtesy back to the White House.” The weekday press conferences had been abolished among the speakers of Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump. Trump described critical media as “enemies of the people”. With Psaki, regular press conferences and respectful treatment of journalists in the briefing room returned.