Jen Psaki says Democrats know 'they will lose' if midterms are a referendum on President Biden
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday that the Democrats know "they will lose" if the midterm elections end up being a referendum on President Biden.
While discussing Democratic and Republican midterm messaging, NBC's Chuck Todd played an ad by the Arizona Democratic Party focused on Kari Lake that tied together abortion rights and crime. Todd said that he wasn't sure if the ad was really effective or if they were trying too hard to tie the two issues together.
"Look, I think that Democrats, if the election is about who is the most extreme, as we saw, you know, Kevin McCarthy touch on there with Marjorie Taylor Greene, I'll say her name, sitting over his left side, then they're going to win. If it is a referendum on the president, they will lose, and they know that," Psaki said.
She added that Democrats also know that they are vulnerable when it comes to crime. Psaki said Republicans were throwing a lot of money behind ads focusing on crime and Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman.
"That's where they see his vulnerability," said Psaki, who stepped down as White House press secretary in May.
"So, yes, the economy is hanging over everything, but you have [to] look at state-by-state factors, and crime is a huge issue in the Pennsylvania race," she said.
Later in the episode, Todd asked Psaki about being in the White House and about how Biden and others purposefully did not say former President Donald Trump's name.
"You don't say their names, it's like Beetlejuice, somehow it won't show up if you don't say their name. Now he leans into it more. Why?" Todd asked.
Psaki said that while she didn't work for Biden's campaign, Biden ran "aggressively" on the claim that Trump wasn't fit for office. She added that there was a "strategic decision" made when he came into office and that was no longer "what the public wanted."
"But now it's election season again. He did a lot of what he wanted to do, much of it in a bipartisan way, getting legislation done. And now the gloves are off. He's got to maintain control of at least one house of Congress," Psaki said.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., unveiled the GOP's "Commitment to America" plan on Friday, which includes policies focused on combating inflation and illegal immigration.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy speaks about Republicans' "Commitment to America" agenda in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
Democrats, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, criticized the agenda.
"House Republicans are doubling down on an extreme MAGA agenda: to criminalize women's health care, to slash seniors' Medicare (including with the repeal of the lower drug prices for seniors in the Inflation Reduction Act), and to attack our democracy," Pelosi wrote in a press release.
Biden said the GOP's plan was "a series of policy goals with little or no detail."
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Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki sat down with NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Sept. 25, 2022. (Screenshot/NBC/MeetThePress)
There it is! She spoke the obvious truth!
I sorta miss Jen....she had a functioning brain
Definitely a HUGE step down to the current occupant of her old spot.
They will when the $430 BILLION price tag of the handout to society's upper-crust becomes clearer.
Explains the non stop fear mongering and name calling.
they have no positive case to be made based on their governance .
It's abortion, it's Trump and everything but what people in a midterm usually vote on: the president's performance!
Some call it "Kitchen table politics " what i have usually seen is people will ask themselves if they are better off or not than they were 2 years before .
there is really no avoiding it .
A few days ago Trump had another rally, at which rally he once again played the Q Anon theme song.
You want people to vote on Biden? Throw Trump completely under the bus.
You dont have either the inclination or the guts.
Reagan asked the question in 1980 and again in 1984 and it's lived large ever since in the minds of the voters.
The msm does not care what I want or what Republicans want. They will continue covering for Biden.
When a Democrat is in the WH, midterms are about other things. When a Republican is in the WH, the midterms are referendums on the President. Funny how that works out huh?
People will try futilely to make the midterms about abortion and Trump. Trump isn't on a ballot anywhere. Abortion is now up to each state. I really don't believe that many one-issue voters will decide the midterms.
I guess the way the msm looks at is that they have a right to abuse a free press. They think it's what this country deserves.
And the answer has to be "not better off" for the vast majority of Americans.
Here ya go with Trump, again. You have a fear of Trump winning - because your presentation sucks that badly.
Typically, midterm elections are about the party out-of-power being energized to get more power. That is the overriding dynamic — those out of power are hungry and thus motivated. Another key factor, IMO, is the general desire of the electorate to achieve some balance. I think the electorate, as a whole, wants the Legislative branch to be politically in opposition to the Executive branch.
Now, in 2022, things are quite interesting. We have a less-than-impressive Executive branch saddled with negative economic factors. Not a good situation for the Ds (the party in power) come midterms.
On the flipside we still have the GoP divided and weakened by its refusal to remove its infecting Trump parasite. On top of that, we have an historical event —the SCotUS ruling on abortion— that will energize the D base (and those who would vote for D candidates under the right circumstances).
Normally, the GoP would be expected to do well as the party out-of-power, but 2022 holds the potential for a surprise.
Trump continues to commit political suicide
Still stuck on the irrelevant I see. This is about Biden and the Democrats performance. Which is abysmal if you hadn't noticed. That is what is foremost in people's minds.
No, EVERYTHING IS ALL ABOUT TRUMP, 24/7/365!
Just not sure if it is myopia or obsession.
Combination of both. They may think it gives them an excuse for ignoring the abysmal performance of the dumpster fire administration they support.
I am hoping they keep ignoring reality until at least after the midterms.
After midterms they'll just double down on stupid. SOMEHOW, they blame their failures to Trump.
And this is the dumb ass that defended Biden for over a year. Some of this blame goes on her for being an enabler.
She wasn't even that good at it. Her replacement is totally incapable.
Better that press secretary's to explain the Biden policy, maybe Klain and Rice should simply play the old Logical song:
It's what she was paid big bucks to do. She quit after less than two years so she obviously did not like it too much. Jean-Pierre, on the other hand, is nothing but window dressing and not even very good at that.