Peter Doocy, Fox News’ White House correspondent, had a verbal sparring match with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki during Monday morning’s briefing. Doocy asked pointed questions regarding President Biden’s recently implemented travel bans as well as his failure to comply with his own mask mandates during a shopping trip over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Doocy pointed out that when COVID-19 was first recognized, former president Trump imposed travel bans and was blasted by Biden for being “hysterical,” “fearmongering,” and having “xenophobia;” he asked Psaki what had changed that made it right for Democrats to institute a similar travel ban.
DOOCY TIME: "Before Joe Biden was president, he said that covid travel restrictions on foreign countries were 'hysterical,' 'xenophobia,' and 'fearmongering.' So, what changed?
Psaki demands Doocy "pull it in full context," which was Biden condemning a Trump tweet, not the ban pic.twitter.com/vqOjVn007c
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 29, 2021
Doocy wasn’t the first to notice the obvious inconsistency, with social media exploding over the weekend following the White House’s travel restriction edict.
Ronna McDaniel, a GOP Chairwoman pointed out on Twitter that: “I see restricting travel over COVID is apparently no longer racist and ‘xenophobic.’ I wonder what changed.”
Claudia Tenney, a Congresswoman noted that: “I’m old enough to remember when restricting travel from other nations was racist and xenophobic.”
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) join in as well, mocking the Biden White House’s hypocrisy as “typical of this incompetent administration.”
Just last year Joe Biden and Kamala Harris called travel bans “racist” and “xenophobic.”
The hypocrisy here is amazing, but typical of this incompetent administration. pic.twitter.com/nqalT7mVkf
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) November 29, 2021
Psaki backpedaled, attempting to deflect Biden’s earlier comments as not about Trump’s ban itself, but rather Trump’s messaging about the ban.
Doocy quickly moved on to inquire about Biden’s maskless shopping excursion over the weekend in Nantucket. Videos went viral of the president defying his own orders inside of a store that had a ‘mask-required’ sign posted on the front door.
Doocy: "We saw the President shopping indoors on Saturday behind glass that says face coverings acquired, but his face was uncovered. Why?
Psaki: He "follows the recommendations and the advice of the CDC. I don't know what the circumstances were of that particular moment." pic.twitter.com/Hl10M7wazs
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 29, 2021
When Doocy asked the uncomfortable question of Psaki, she simply swept the hypocrisy aside by generically stating that president Biden “follows… the advice of the CDC… I don’t know… the circumstances… of that particular moment.”
Doocy didn’t let her go though, pointing out the “face covering required” sign posted on the front of the store and reiterating that the entire nation saw him inside without a mask.
Doocy: "He was shopping in a store and on the glass outside, it said 'face covering required' & we could see him inside and his face was uncovered."
Psaki: "Well, again, Peter, our recommendation and advice continues to be for people to wear masks when they are required…" pic.twitter.com/gDMNPJnxnv
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 29, 2021
Psaki had no good response, so she reiterated that administration’s stance that the public should wear masks wherever they are required to.
Doocy: "Is the concern that when the President says today, 'please wear your mask indoors in public settings around other people,' and he doesn't do that, that it's going to make it harder to get people to follow him?"
Psaki says Biden wears them "to save" other people's lives pic.twitter.com/aZWoxYUftP
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 29, 2021
Psaki absolutely got the blistering end of that exchange. I certainly don’t envy her, it would be difficult to try and cover for all the lies and hypocrisies of this administration.
Author: Donna Hill
