Jen Psaki Checks Reporter From Conservative Paper for Putting Words in Her Mouth: ‘You Are Not’ White House Spokesperson

White House press secretary Jen Psaki chin-checked a reporter from the conservative New York Post for trying to characterize her answer to a question about teachers returning to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

At Friday’s White House daily briefing, Psaki and Post correspondent Steven Nelson went mano-a-mano over the issue of teachers and Covid, which became a prominent issue this week when conflicting statements on the issue came out of the White House.

But Psaki wasn’t feeling Nelson’s line of questioning from the get-go, nor did she appreciate his summation of her answer:

Q Okay. So, the first quick one: I offer it as a “yes,” “no,” or “maybe,” perhaps.

MS. PSAKI: I never like those questions, but go ahead.

Q Will President Biden use the power of the bully pulpit to help cajole teachers who are unwilling to go back to schools — to go back?

MS. PSAKI: Well, one, I’m just going to reject the premise of the question. I will say I have teachers in my family, as I’m sure many of you do. They are the first people to tell you that being — teaching in the classroom and being able to engage with kids in the classroom — or middle-schoolers or high-schoolers in the classroom — it makes their job more enjoyable, makes them more effective at what they do.

The President is absolutely committed to reopening schools. He wants them not just to reopen, but to stay open, and he wants to do that in a safe way. And we’re going to rely on CDC guidance — which, again, is not officially out yet — to determine the best way to do it.

But there are several mitigating factors that we’ve seen in data to date that will help make it safe. Of course, vaccines are part of that, but so is masking, so is social distancing, so is ensuring that schools have the ventilation and the facilities that they need in order to do it safely. That’s our focus.

So the President’s focus is on — and that’s one of the reasons why he’s out advocating for the American Rescue Plan. Part of that is funding so that schools can do exactly that.

Q So it sounded like a “yes” with an asterisk (inaudible) safely…

MS. PSAKI: I — if you — if you are the spokesperson for the White House, you could certainly say that, but you are not. But you can ask me another question.

This is at least the second time Psaki has scolded a reporter for characterizing one of her responses, and yet another glimpse of how she and her press shop plan to deal with media they view as overstepping.

Watch the clip above via The White House.