Jen Psaki Says Hunter Biden at State Dinner ‘Absolutely Not’ Good Optics — But Was Biden ‘Wanting To Show He Loves His Son’
MSNBC host and former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki conceded the optics of Hunter Biden’s appearance at a State Dinner were not good, but President Joe Biden wanted “to show that he loves his son and he’s standing by him.”
Some in the media have questioned why the president invited Hunter to a state dinner for Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Republic of India last week, shortly after his son reached a plea deal on tax and gun charges.
On Tuesday morning’s edition of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, co-host Mika Brzezinski asked Psaki about the dinner, and about how her old boss could “draw a distinction” between the Hunter issue and ex-President Donald Trump’s woes.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I’m just curious because if you look at right-wing websites or watch certain certain TV channels, you will hear all about Hunter at the state dinner. I mean, you will hear Jim Jordan going on and on and on about conspiracy theories and and you won’t hear as much about this. And I’m just curious, the White House obviously not going to chime in on these audiotapes or anything like that. But at the same time, how does how does the the Biden White House make a distinction that cuts through to people that are being honestly misled?
JEN PSAKI: Such a good question, Mike. I don’t spend too much time on right-wing websites, but I completely concur with what you’re saying about what’s out there and the challenge the White House has right now. I mean, for them, if you’re sitting in a White House right now, you’re putting your head down around all of these investigations. They’re not going to comment, or that is their strategy, on the specifics of any of Trump’s legal woes. And the same thing on Hunter.
I think, you know, what we saw with Hunter appearing at the state dinner was, in my suspicion was the president, his son wanted to come, so his son’s going to come to the dinner.
Was that optically easier for the White House and the White House communications team? Absolutely not.
But I suspect that was more in the family circumstance of him wanting to come and wanting to, just the president wanting to show that he loves his son and he’s standing by him.
What I suspect, Mika, as we watch this over the next couple of months is they will be very quiet for the time being. But once it gets into the middle of the campaign, they’re going to have to find a way to your point to draw that contrast, not by commenting on the specifics of a criminal investigation or the specific ups and downs of every legal development, but by drawing the morals and the values contrast, right? Of there’s one president who values our national security and protects document– protecting our secrets. And there’s another former president candidate who doesn’t. There’s one who stands up for democracy and our democratic values, and there’s one who doesn’t. There’s ways to draw the contrast without getting into the specifics. But I think we’re not going to see that for a little while.
Watch above via MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
