Jen Psaki Torpedoes DeSantis and Pence As She Warns Trump’s ‘Evil Charisma’ Could Hand Him GOP Nod in 2024
Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC host-in-waiting Jen Psaki dismissed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former VP Mike Pence as alternatives to former President Donald Trump, whose “evil charisma” she warned could give him another victory in a GOP primary race.
On Sunday morning’s edition of NBC’s Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd asked panelists if Trump’s latest pileup of racist dinner dates and constitution-shredding rants could finally break his grip on the GOP.
PBS anchor Yamiche Alcindor was skeptical, and Psaki was quick to warn Republicans looking to the likes of DeSantis for salvation should not “underestimate” Trump and his “evil charisma”:
CHUCK TODD: Yamiche, people say, “We’ve been here before with them.”
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: Well, to me –
CHUCK TODD: Is this time different?
YAMICHE ALCINDOR: – the fact that we even have to ask that question shows you that there’s still this grip that former President Trump has on the party, and his popularity among some in the base, these extreme MAGA people who are still supporting him. The fact that they could still win primaries, that to me tells me that there’s something to the fact that he could still win the nomination. We’ve been here before. This feels familiar to me. We were here, and the Access Hollywood tape, when everyone found out. That they had a daughter and a mother, and were saying that they didn’t want former President Trump to be the nominee. We were here again after January 6 when we saw people leaving the White House in droves. And then everyone turned around and at least the senators who had the power to say, “We’re going to convict you in this impeachment,” they all decided, “Actually, this is the line that we’re not going to cross.” So I think, yes, does it feel different? It feels different because we’ve been fighting antisemitism and racism for a long time. But I still think that it’s too early to say whether or not he’s completely out of the ability to win this nomination.
JEN PSAKI: I mean, I think Democrats and sane Republicans underestimate Trump at their own peril because in order for Trump not to win the nomination there has to be a better alternative. That’s how primaries work, right? Ron DeSantis, this man – he’s either the savior or he’s currently at his peak. Mike Pence, with all due respect, didn’t exactly light the world on fire politically before he was selected by Donald Trump to be his running mate. So the question is, who’s the alternative? Trump has some evil charisma that helped him win the nomination. The nomination process is long. What is going to happen here? And my view is people should not underestimate him.
Watch above via NBC’s Meet the Press.
