President Joe Biden’s tough talk has once again proven to be just hot air as a former White House press aide who threatened to “destroy” is set to reemerge on the campaign trail.
Throughout his presidency, many figures have cycled from positions directly in the administration to tangential roles with think tanks, activist groups, or in the case of former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, corporate media.
While some like former Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice left with messes credited to them, only one had the honor of being the first scalp taken under Biden’s watch, proven toothless now.
One time White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo resigned in disgrace in February 2021 when he had threatened “I will destroy you” to Politico’s Tara Palmeri and, among other things, accused her of jealousy when she had been looking into his romantic relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammon.
Friday, the Tennessee Lookout confirmed that Ducklo, who had worked his way through the minor leagues to serve as chief communications officer for Nashville Mayor John Cooper, would be getting called up to the big leagues once more in July to serve as a senior communications advisor for the president’s reelection campaign.
As reported at the time of his resignation, Vanity Fair had written of an off-the-record call wherein “Ducklo made derogatory and misogynistic comments, accusing Palmeri of only reporting on his relationship–which, due to the ethics questions that factor into the relationship between a journalist and White House official, falls under the purview of her reporting beat–because she was ‘jealous’ that an unidentified man in the past had ‘wanted to f**k’ McCammond ‘and not you.'”
WH press official Ducklo who threatened reporter takes dive, resigns as Biden takes heat for initial leniency https://t.co/Fcz9NjQt7E pic.twitter.com/qNFNPk2UtB
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) February 14, 2021
Biden had told staffers on his inauguration day, “I’m not joking when I say this: If you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect or talk down to someone, I promise you, I will fire you on the spot — on the spot. No ifs, ands or buts.”
Ducklo had resigned and issued a statement that claimed, “No words can express my regret, my embarrassment, and my disgust for my behavior. I used language that no woman should ever have to hear from anyone, especially where she was just trying to do her job. It was language that was abhorrent, disrespectful, and unacceptable.”
“I am devastated to have embarrassed and disappointed my White House colleagues and President Biden, and after a discussion with White House communication leadership tonight, I resigned my position and will not be returning from administrative leave,” he continued. “I know this was terrible. I know I can’t take it back. But I also know I can learn from it and do better. This incident is not representative of who I am as a person, and I will be determined to earn back the trust of everyone I have let down because of my intolerable actions.”
The incestuous relationship between the administration and media was only heightened by Palmeri seemingly priming the environment for the redemptive return of Ducklo when she wrote for Puck News in May that “His return has been smoothed by effusive comments of support from female colleagues, in advance of the official announcement, lest anyone kick up dust about the whole thing.”
Psaki was among those who remarked, “TJ has an incredible understanding of the media, which will be valuable to the campaign.”
The public was less receptive.
Will he be threatening more women?
— President Mimeo (@SwopePutney) June 16, 2023
Creeps employ creeps, no surprise here. Ducklo is despicable
— Austin Hein (@HeinForLiberty) June 16, 2023
The War on Women about to ramp back up again
— Jeffe Suarez (@SuarezJeffe) June 17, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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