Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that she hopes to bring her passion for “debunking” and “calling out BS” to her upcoming MSNBC show.
“First of all, my business is not rage,” Psaki said at Vox Media’s Code Conference in Los Angeles. “What I hope to do is bring that passion for explaining things, debunking things, calling out BS when you see it to my next job.”
After leaving the White House in May, Psaki now begins her first day at MSNBC Monday, where she will focus on election coverage and cover pressing issues, including Mar-a-Lago. Her original streaming series will begin airing in 2023.
While Psaki admits that she is a Democrat, most recently working for the Biden administration, she finds some journalists’ approaches to current political issues create “rage” and do not give the full context to individual issues, pointing to a recent New York Times article that argued Republicans and Democrats both think democracy is in danger.
“That is lazy and also inaccurate,” she said. “And also, you are not telling the full story of what’s happening in the country.” Similarly, she called analysis that saw Biden’s speech Thursday as partisan “bizarre,” noting that “there’s a tactical component of what he’s saying publicly…but it’s not a reflection of a change in his view.”
However, Psaki still finds it necessary to clarify her views as she enters MSNBC, noting, “I’m not trying to hide from what my past experiences are.”
“I very publicly worked for the last president,” she continued. “I also will be transparent about what I believe — I mean, I did some work for Planned Parenthood, I very much believe that women should have the right to make choices. I’m not going to hide that when I’m on television.”
Capitalizing on her former government work, Psaki’s streaming series will utilize her experience from behind the podium and knowledge of presidential politics to inform and entertain MSNBC audiences.
