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Psaki working overtime to spin Biden comments comparing opponents to white supremacists

January 15, 2022 | | Print Article

In another stunning display of mental gymnastics, White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained to members of the media Friday that President Joe Biden wasn’t actually comparing senators to white supremacists when he compared them to infamous white supremacists, and no offense was meant.

Wait, what?

In a fiery speech in Atlanta, Tuesday, Biden likened those senators who oppose setting aside the 60-vote legislative filibuster in order to pass his party’s reimagining of our elections to segregationists George Wallace and Bull Connor, and to Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

After calling last year’s Capitol riot a “coup” attempt, Biden falsely accused Republican-led states of passing voting restrictions to reduce participation because of former President Donald Trump’s claims of voter fraud, which were rejected by courts.

“At consequential moments in history, they present a choice: Do you want to be the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?” Biden said.

Ultimately, Biden’s push for the election legislation fell flat.

On the Senate floor, Wednesday, Republicans blasted Biden’s speech, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) calling it a “rant,” “incoherent,” and “unpresidential.”

“I have known, liked, and personally respected Joe Biden for many years. I did not recognize the man at that podium yesterday,” said McConnell, who added that Biden’s remarks amounted to “shouting that 52 senators and millions of Americans are racist unless he gets whatever he wants.”

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said that Biden was going “down the same tragic road taken by President Trump casting doubt on the reliability of American elections.”

RINO Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, voted to convict Trump in two Senate impeachment trials and routinely criticized him during the 2016 campaign. In his Senate speech, Romney stated that Biden “said quite a number of things that simply weren’t true” in his Atlanta address, adding that POTUS “accused a number of my good and principled colleagues in the Senate of having sinister, even racist inclinations.”

At Friday’s presser, Psaki’s most recognized sparring partner, Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, pressed the press secretary for clarification.

“He is talking about Republicans that don’t agree with voting rights [bills] — he’s describing them as George Wallace, Bull Connor and Jefferson Davis,” said Doocy. “What happened to the guy who, when he was elected, said, ‘To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemies’?”

Showcasing once again her ability to gaslight on demand, Psaki responded: “I think everybody listening to that speech — who’s speaking on the level, as my mother would say — would note that he was not comparing them as humans.”

Ohhhh… huh?

Splitting still more semantic hairs, Psaki added: “He was comparing the choice to those figures in history and where they’re going to position themselves as they determine whether they’re going to support the fundamental right to vote or not.”

In a twisted way, it does make sense. Using that logic, Biden wasn’t a white supremacist when he delivered the eulogy for former KKK Grand Wizard, Senator Robert Byrd in 2010. He just made similar choices.

The bills at the heart of Biden’s undeniably offensive rant include the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would force certain states to gain federal approval to make changes to election laws, and the Freedom to Vote Act, which would make Election Day a holiday, force states to allow no-excuse mail-in voting, and require that most jurisdictions allow 10 hours per day of early voting for two weeks before an election. That bill would also bar states from requiring people to show ID to get a mail-in ballot.

In other words, both bills seek to strip states of their Constitutional rights to run their own elections, while enacting laws meant to benefit the ruling party.

But don’t worry. Biden isn’t like an actual human oligarch for pushing these “reforms.” He’s just making tyrannical choices.

No offense, Jen.

Melissa Fine
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