Jen Psaki Slams Trump ‘Lackeys’ Who ‘Want to Please Daddy’ by Taking Over Elections

MS NOW host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki hammered “lackeys” in President Donald Trump’s administration for being willing to rig elections in order to “please daddy.”

Trump drew criticism across the board on Monday when he said Republicans “should take over” elections in 15 states by “nationalizing” them.

He doubled down in the Oval Office Tuesday when CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him to explain himself (before he lost it on her over a question about Jeffrey Epstein survivors).

On Tuesday’s edition of MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Psaki sounded the alarm that there are plenty of willing “lackeys” to go along with Trump on trying to take over elections and “hold on to power”:

PSAKI: Okay, so you could probably hear that pretty well. We put it on the screen just in case. But that is Donald Trump saying he wants Republicans to take over and nationalize voting in at least 15 places. And it certainly would not be just 15 places if he were to do this.

Now, while the federal government is allowed to make general laws about voting, the Constitution specifically gives the states control over elections. So having the federal government and I would note the Trump-controlled federal government take control of elections would be a wild, anti-democratic power grab.

It`s not like it was a slip of the tongue where he just said it once off the cuff. I mean, he kept talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: But what exactly did you mean when you said that you should nationalize elections?

And which 15 states are you talking about?

TRUMP: I want to see elections be honest. And if a state can`t run an election, I think the people behind me should do something about it. Because, you know, if you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections. I don`t know why the federal government doesn`t do them anyway.

Go to 2020 and look at the facts that are coming out, rigged crooked elections. If we have a areas, take a look at Detroit, take a look at Pennsylvania, take a look at Philadelphia. You go take a look at Atlanta. Look at some of the places that are horrible corruption on elections.

And the federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: A state is an agent for the federal government and elections. Okay, now we all know Trump didn`t like the outcome in 2020, and he wants the federal government to take over the elections in predominantly Democratic cities. Those are the ones he mentioned because the federal government he runs in his mind will make sure it works out the way he wants.

And yes, the truth is Trump has been fixated on this issue for a very long time. But what is different now is that Trump has, well, a whole lot of lackeys in his administration who want to please daddy and are willing to follow through on his election takeover plans.

I mean, last week we saw these extraordinary images of Trump`s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, looking on, lurking, I will say creepily, as FBI agents seized boxes and boxes of 2020 ballots from officials in Fulton County, Georgia.

And today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published body camera footage from the local police officers on the scene during that raid. And it shows just how completely chaotic and haphazard the search really was.

Watch above via MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!