MSNBC’s Jen Psaki Trashes Walking Talking ‘Joke’ Trump Over ‘Laughable’ New Moves
MSNBC host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki trashed President Donald Trump as a “joke” over several “laughable” examples of what she called autocratic corruption.
Since taking office for a second time, Trump has overseen massive changes to the physical features of the White House, including a gold-drenched Oval Office overhaul, a paved-over lawn in the Rose Garden, and now a major demolition of the East Wing to make way for a massive ballroom.
In fact, an unnamed White House official told NBC News on Wednesday that the entire East Wing will be demolished and “rebuilt” — contrary to previous assurances.
On Thursday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, the host cited the White House remake and his pardon of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as examples of how “authoritarian leaders can become so caught up in projecting their own power”:
PSAKI: Okay, so we’re going to get to Governor Whitmer in a moment. I’m really looking forward to talking to her, hearing what she’s hearing out in the country, as she’s visiting red districts across the country.
But first, I want to take you back to the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Yes — that one.
You know the correspondents’ dinner. It’s the annual Washington tradition, kind of a weird one, where the president and members of the press get together, maybe have a few drinks. They tell a few jokes at each other’s expense.
But in 2011, the dinner was especially notable because that was the year that Barack Obama got up and absolutely roasted Donald Trump. And there was one joke from that night that I think has a certain resonance today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Say what you will about Mr. Trump. He certainly would bring some change to the White House. Let’s see what we’ve got up there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: He does not look thrilled.
But that was then President Barack Obama, imagining what felt at the time like a completely crazy bananas universe, an alternate one where Trump becomes president and renovates the White House to look like one of his tacky hotels and casinos.
Now, this was, of course, before AI, so someone at the White House had to actually draw up that ridiculous image you see. But now, of course, we are living in that crazy, wacky alternate universe that Obama conjured up that night a long time ago.
By now, you’ve seen the images of Donald Trump’s construction crews tearing down the entire East Wing of the White House to make room for a gaudy new ballroom Trump plans to build in its place. As of today, the historic East Wing of the White House that stood for a century, that has so much history is completely gone, and it can be frustrating, way more than that, absolutely infuriating to watch Trump destroy a building that belongs to all of us without approval from Congress, from really anyone, just because he feels like it.
But in doing so, Trump is literally making himself the punchline of a 14-year-old joke, a joke about what might happen if a narcissistic real estate developer with horrible taste became the President of the United States. He’s proving once again that he remains kind of a captive of the very stereotype that’s made him a target of ridicule like that for so many years. He just can’t seem to help himself.
And in that way, Donald Trump himself is a joke, a walking, talking parody of himself. Just look at the Oval Office there. That’s not to say his actions in office aren’t dangerous. They absolutely are.
But here’s the thing authoritarian leaders can become so caught up in projecting their own power that their levels of blatant public corruption just get more laughable as they go.
I mean, let me give you an example. Today, Donald Trump pardoned the head of a cryptocurrency exchange who was convicted after he allowed criminals to use his platform to finance everything from child sex abuse to drug trafficking to terrorism. This is a horrible guy.
It’s an outrageous move, made all the more outrageous by the fact that the company he founded has major business ties to the Trump family’s own crypto venture. And when Trump was asked about it today, he lashed out in his own typical Trumpy way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Today, you pardoned the founder of Binance. Can you explain why you chose to pardon him? And did it have anything to do with his involvement in —
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Which one? Who is that? Are you talking about the crypto person?
REPORTER: Yes.
TRUMP: A lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything. He served four months in jail, and they say that he was not guilty of anything, that what he did —
REPORTER: He admitted to his crimes.
TRUMP: Well, you don’t know much about crypto. You know nothing about — you know nothing about nothing. You’re fake news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: Okay, so just to recap, the company this guy founded has been campaigning for a pardon for about a year. It then delivered a massive investment in Trump family crypto business. Trump then gave him a pardon, which is something he would have had to sign. And yet Trump still behaves like he has no idea who he is.
Then Trump’s claims this guy was not guilty of anything, which is equally ludicrous because he pleaded guilty to the crimes.
And look, recognizing the absurdity of that definitely doesn’t minimize the danger of Donald Trump.
It minimizes Trump himself. It exposes him for the small man that he is, and it makes it easier to think about and figure out and plan how to push back against his corruption.
Watch above via MSNBC’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki.
