WATCH: Jen Psaki Asked Why Biden Doesn’t Spend More Time Denouncing Trump ‘Personally’ as ‘Threat to Democracy’

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked why President Joe Biden doesn’t spend more time “personally” condemning former President Donald Trump over the events of Jan. 6, 2020, and whether Biden views Trump as a “threat to democracy.”

At Tuesday’s White House briefing, AFP White House correspondent Sebastian Smith was one of several reporters who asked Ms. Psaki about the upcoming anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, but the onus for his questions was squarely on the current president’s actions.

Smith asked Psaki why the president ‘refrained” from “condemning ex-President Trump personally” over his Big Lie campaign, whether Biden views Trump as a “threat to democracy,” and what Biden can do to convince Trump voters he won fair and square:

MR. SMITH: So, the President, he’s making remarks on Thursday, as you said. And he has often denounced the January 6th events. But could you talk a little bit about why he refrains, to the extent that he does (inaudible), from condemning ex-President Trump personally, not just for January 6th, but for his ongoing campaign — which is very persistent, almost daily, maybe at least weekly — to discredit Americans’ faith in the election process?

So, in short, does President Biden think that his predecessor is acting normally, or does he think he’s a threat to democracy, which is what some people would say?

MS. PSAKI: You know, I have to say, I don’t think we’ve held back on this front. I mean, President Trump’s role in subverting our Constitution, attempting to block the peaceful transfer of power, and defending a mob that attacked our Capitol and law enforcement has been well documented. And it’s something obviously the President spoke about in terms of that being one of the worst days in our democracy.

And he’ll speak to — as I noted a little bit earlier, he’ll speak to the historical significance of January 6th — what it means for the country one year later; the importance of the peaceful transfer of power, which, obviously, the prior administration and the prior President weren’t a part of.

And — but I think there’s a larger message here to the country about who we are and who we need to be, moving forward.

MR. SMITH: Does he consider ex-President Trump to be a threat to democracy?

MS. PSAKI: I think he’s spoken to this in the past.

MR. SMITH: Okay. On the same issue, but a little more broadly: The polls keep showing, again and again, that something like 70 percent of Trump voters think the election was rigged, that President Biden is not legitimate, and so on.

Is there anything that President Biden feels he should have already done or is there anything he feels he still can do to actually talk directly to those people and try and get, you know, people’s reality to match a bit more in this country?

MS. PSAKI: I think what he’s going to continue to do is speak to everyone in the country — those who didn’t vote for him, those who may not believe he is the legitimate President — about what he wants to do to make their lives better. And he sees that as his responsibility as the President of the United States. That’s what he will continue to do.

Psaki is correct that Biden has denounced Trump repeatedly, and even referenced Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville as a “threat to democracy” well before the election.

But Smith’s observation is somewhat in keeping with the attitude that President Biden has tried to project, that of a leader who doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about his predecessor, or his most rabid critics.

Watch the clip above via C-Span.

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