MSNBC’s Jen Psaki Drops Trump Montage to Explain Why Press Office Won’t Release Transcripts

MSNBC host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki used a montage of what she called President Donald Trump’s “goofy statements” to boost her theory for why White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s press shop doesn’t send out transcripts.

From the first day after Trump’s inauguration in January, the White House changed many of the ways it interacts with the media, most ostentatiously in the conduct of briefings and in the composition of the press pool.

But they also pretty much ceased disseminating transcripts altogether, either for Trump’s speeches or Leavitt’s briefings.

On Thursday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, the host floated the theory that the press shop is trying to spare itself embarrassment from his stream-of-consciousness rants:

PSAKI: I mean, I don’t know what the difference between history and world history, what even the context of world history is supposed to be there. But you get the idea.

Trump officials love — they love, they love to talk about how Trump is the most transparent president in history. I don’t have to tell you that claim is bizarre a little bit. It’s also kind of hilarious, given how wrong it is.

Now, here’s the headline today from “The HuffPost”, most transparent White House in history keeps majority of Trump’s remarks secret. “HuffPost” reports that since Trump took office, the White House has published just 29 transcripts of the 146 public remarks Trump made in his first 100 days.

Now, for all of you math nerds out there, that’s less than 20 percent of the remarks he’s made have been published. The White House hasn’t actually published a Trump transcript in over two months.

So why is the most transparent administration in history trying to hide what the most transparent president in history, apparently, or the world says from the public? Why are they trying to hide it? Well, maybe it’s because he keeps saying things like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The drone is killing tremendous numbers of people. You hide behind a tree and the drone comes down and it circles you with fire. You don’t have a chance. A tree comes down also, by the way, it’s so intense.

I mean, you see these trees being knocked down like — like they’re being sawed down by a top of the line timberman like — like you know who, Sean Duffy. Do you know that Sean Duffy, the head of the Transportation Department, who’s working right now on the airports and getting assistance because Biden didn’t do a thing for four years and Pete Buttigieg was the head, and he goes bicycling to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: To be in the mind of the two people sitting next to Trump during those remarks, what were they thinking?

So that was Donald Trump today. He was, of course, representing the United States of America on an official state visit to Qatar. To be clear, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was not at this event, had absolutely nothing to do with it. This was a roundtable with military contractors.

And since we don’t have an official transcript of those remarks from the White House, let me just read you some — some of that back to you.

Here it is. Quote: You hide behind a tree and the drone comes down and it circles you with fire. You don’t have a chance. The tree comes down also.

By the way, it’s so intense. I mean, you see these trees being knocked down like, like they’re being sawed down by a top of the line timberman. Like. Like you know who? Sean Duffy, the head of the Transportation Department, who’s working right now on the airports and getting a system because Biden didn’t do a thing for four years and Pete Buttigieg was the head, and he goes, bicycle into work.

Okay, if you think I’m cherry picking the weirdest thing Trump said today or I’m leaving out words, trust you, I’m not. We played it for you. I read it for you.

He also repeated his weird line about how the word groceries is an old-fashioned term nobody uses anymore, and he inexplicably claimed Hitler gave a speech at the Eiffel Tower, which of course never happened.

Again, all of that was just today. Which is to say nothing about all the strange things he said since taking office again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And instead of using hydraulic like on tractors that can handle anything from hurricanes to lightning to anything, they use magnets. It’s a new theory. Magnets are going to lift the planes up and it doesn’t work.

So, we’ve opened up the shower heads, the faucets, the toilets.

Seriously overweight, and he takes the fat. The fat shot drug.

This is a different panel that I’ve — everything’s computer.

I hear so much about the word groceries. I used to use groceries a lot on the trail. A word that’s like sort of an old-fashioned word, groceries.

But groceries is the word that’s the most accurate word.

Basically, what we’re doing is equalizing. There’s a new word that I came up with, which I think is probably the best word.

It sort of represents something that’s both horrible and beautiful and strong and miserable. Weak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: Okay. See, all that goes a long way toward explaining why the Trump White House might not want an official record of all the things he said, posted on the White House website, and blasted out to reporters every time he’s speaking.

But here’s the thing these transcripts are not just some perfunctory thing that White House has put out when they feel like. I mean, for decades, presidents of both parties have had their public statements recorded and transcribed by nonpartisan civil servants who serve as stenographers. They literally travel with presidents everywhere they go.

And the transcripts are then sent out to the full White House press list, typically within hours, and also posted on the White House website. It’s an important part of what it means for an administration to be transparent, to make sure the press and the American public have an official record of remarks from the leader of the free world.

Now, when “HuffPost” asked the White House a pretty simple question about why they were publishing these transcripts so infrequently, they got this response from the ever charming White House communications director, Steven Cheung. Here’s what he said, quote, or here’s part of what he said.

“You must be truly effing stupid if you think we’re not transparent. Stop beclowning yourself.”

I think Steven Cheung may need some fresh air. Maybe he goes bicycle into work as his boss might suggest.

Watch above via MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki.