Psaki reminds reporters Biden won't 'be a commentator' like the last guy

During the daily briefing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reminded reporters that President Joe Biden was not elected to offer up daily political commentary, nor would he be doing so.

“The American public should read it as his commitment to delivering on exactly what they elected him to do, which is not to be a commentator on the daily developments of an impeachment trial,” Psaki responded.

She further explained that Biden views his priorities as “push[ing] forward an American Rescue Plan that will ensure people are back to work, get the assistance they need, get shots in arms, reopen schools.”

“That’s what they asked him to do and that’s what he’s focused on doing every day.”

The day before, Psaki made a similar point to reporters noting, “Joe Biden is the president, he’s not a pundit. He’s not going to opine on the back-and-forth arguments.”

Biden’s style is in stark contrast to Trump’s, who regularly used his platform while in office to comment on nearly every topic under the sun, with no filter.

Trump spent much of his term using tweets, official White House events, and campaign rallies to opine on topics far beyond the presidential portfolio.

From a Feb. 10 White House press briefing:

REPORTER: How should the American public interpret the president’s silence on this. Is he not invested in the outcome of this trial? Or is he?

 

JEN PSAKI: The American public should read it as his commitment to delivering on exactly what they elected him to do, which is not to be a commentator on the daily developments of an impeachment trial, but to push forward an American Rescue Plan that will ensure people are back to work, get the assistance they need, get shots in arms, reopen schools.

 

That’s what they asked him to do and that’s what he’s focused on doing every day.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.