Jen Psaki Destroys Ted Cruz for Claiming Biden Pledge to Nominate Black Woman is ‘Offensive’
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dismantled Senator Ted Cruz’s claim that he found President Joe Biden’s pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court “offensive” — and she brought receipts, as the kids say.
Cruz made the remarks during his podcast over the weekend, telling his cohost “The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I’ve got to say, that’s offensive,” and added “You know, Black women are what, 6 percent of the U.S. population? He’s saying that 94 percent of Americans, I don’t give a damn about you. You are ineligible. He’s saying, if you are a white guy, tough luck. If you are white women, tough luck. You don’t qualify.”
At Tuesday’s press briefing, NBC News’s Kristen Welker asked Psaki to respond directly to Cruz, and Psaki obliged by noting the contrast between today and (checks notes) 15 months ago:
MS.WELKER: Following up on the Supreme Court decision, a number of Republicans, as you know and as you’ve been asked about, have spoken out about the President’s pledge to pick a Black woman for the High Court. How do you respond specifically to Ted Cruz who, overnight, called it “offensive” — offensive to Black women that he would make that pledge?
MS. PSAKI: Well, here’s what I would say first: Just over a year ago, the previous president also promised to select a woman for the Supreme Court. Not only were there no complaints about choosing a nominee from a specific demographic — from the same corners — but there was widespread praise of now-Justice Barrett on those grounds with Republican lawmakers widely highlighting that they thought this was positive for women in America.
So, take Senator Cruz himself: He had no objection to Donald Trump promising he’d nominate a woman in 2020. I repeat: No objection at all. In fact, he praised her on these grounds during — praised her on these grounds — the nominee. During her confirmation hearing, Senator Cruz said, quote, “I think you’re an amazing role model for little girls. What advice would you give little girls?”
When President Reagan honored his campaign pledge to place the first woman on the Court, he said it symbolizes the unique American opportunity. There is no outcry around that.
The President’s view is that after 230 years of the Supreme Court being in existence, the fact that not a single Black woman has served on the Supreme Court is a failure in the process, not a failure — or a lack of qualified Black women to serve as Supreme Court justices.
Watch above via NBC News.
