WATCH: Jen Psaki Takes Us Inside Her Press Shop, Responds to Peter Baker’s Criticism, and Raps ‘Boring’ Insider Journalism
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki took Mediaite inside her press shop, responded to New York Times correspondent Peter Baker’s criticism, and more in the final part of our exclusive interview.
The first two parts of my exclusive interview with Psaki focused on her interplay with the press, and the attention it has garnered. But we also spoke at length about the press shop more generally, and touched on the coverage it receives. Some of the highlights:
The Former Guy
Psaki appeared to take a little dig at former President Donald Trump when I asked her what her process is to get in to see President Joe Biden.
Everybody has to get past the version of Mrs. Landingham, or the Mrs. Landingham team, for good reason. Right? Because any president, President Biden, President Obama, former President Obama, you know, they have a rigorous schedule, right?
Most presidents, I should say, have a rigorous schedule.
Palace Intrigue is Boring
A number of “insider” publications have posted anonymously-sourced stories promoting narratives about internal strife in the Psaki press shop, and with Vice President Kamala Harris’ office. I asked Psaki to talk about the state of play with those publications and their sources.
“I think it’s kind of boring, to be honest,” Psaki said, adding that “there’s just so much to cover when you’re covering a White House, for good and for bad, right?”
She went on to add that “We kind of chuckle sometimes when you see some of these stories about inter fighting between the press office or between the press and communications office, that’s just not aligned with reality.”
Baker’s Criticism
I asked Psaki to respond to a criticism that The New York Times‘ Peter Baker made in the largely laudatory Vogue profile, that has been echoed generally by other White House reporters.
Baker told Vogue that “the briefings are not exceptionally informative,” and that the Biden press shop has “been pretty buttoned up and tight with information — much to our frustration at times.”
Psaki began by saying “Peter Baker is one of the best, most respected reporters out there, for good reason,” and added that “I agree with some sentiment of it.”
She then proceeded to break down the facets of televised briefings that contribute to the sense that Baker described, and concluded by saying she doesn’t “take that as a hurt my heart criticism.”
The Obama Press Shop
I covered the Obama White House during both of Psaki’s stints in their press shop, so we spent a few minutes digging into the remarks she made to Vogue, and how they meshed with my own experiences with them.
Watch all that and more in the final part of our interview above.
