WHITE House Press Secretary Jen Psaki awkwardly sparred with a reporter on Friday as she was pushed to comment on claims that the Biden administration is “Obama’s third term.”
It comes after Psaki admitted she tells Biden not to answer questions from journalists outside press briefings, claiming it’s “not something we recommend.”
Newsmax reporter Emerald Robinson attempted to grill Psaki during Friday’s briefing on the number of Obama staff that have been taken on by the Biden administration.
“Given the number of former Obama administration officials that are now in the Biden administration and the president’s relatively light schedule, there’s a growing perception that this is really just the third term of President Obama,” Robinson asked.
“What do you say to people who say that?”
Psaki hit back, asking Robinson who was making this claim and later asking “what media?” on being told it was covered in the press.
“Different people,” the Newsmax reporter claimed when pushed again, without supplying any exact examples.
Robinson then questioned whether Kamala Harris is taking on a more prominent role than other Vice Presidents have, citing her welcoming the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last month.
“There were lots of lots of questions when you had Suga here on the one and only, so far, in-person bilateral head of state meeting,” she claimed.
“It was VP Kamala Harris who greeted the Prime Minister and a lot of people found that odd that she’s already taking independent one-on-one calls with key allies.
“I wanted to know how you would react to that?”
“It’s hard to react when I don’t know what people you’re talking about,” Psaki hit back.
Psaki fired back again, claiming that Biden had dinner with Suga and had other talking opportunities with him with a full meeting and press conference.
“It should be no surprise that the Vice President is also playing an important role engaging with and having discussions with foreign leaders,” the press secretary added.
Psaki later cut Robinson off completely from her questioning as she started to ask about a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus was leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.
Robinson had questioned why the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Dr. Anthony Fauci had given funding to the Wuhan Lab of Virology, the lab at the center of the “lab leak” conspiracy theory.
Fauci has publicly discredited the theory.
“Why would the US fund that in China?” she asked.
“The president has said that there needs to be a credible, independent investigation through the World Health Organization. One that relies on data,” Psaki said.
“I’m sorry, Emerald, I think you’ve had plenty of time today,” she added when Robinson tried to continue.
Psaki on Wednesday revealed she tells Biden not to answer questions from journalists.
The communications aide told CNN anchor David Axelrod that the president takes questions “nearly every day” he’s out with the press corps.
She said: “In fact, a lot of times we say ‘Don’t take questions,’ you know, but he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president.
“We’re never going to satisfy the White House press corps and their desires for access. And I think there have been mistakes made in the past of trying to do that.”
Psaki recalled the moment she thought she would be fired after Biden once took questions from pool reporters three times in a day.
She said: “The first time I traveled with him, he took questions from the pool three times that day, and I thought, ‘Am I going to get fired when I get back.
“So, he does do that and he likes doing that. I mean, the thing is, he likes the press corps and likes that back-and-forth engagement.”
It comes as Biden’s top communication aide revealed that she would be stepping down from her post after “roughly” a year fielding questions on the president’s behalf.
Psaki said: “I think it’s going to be time for somebody else to have this job, in a year from now or about a year from now.”
She took over the post from Donald Trump‘s press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who has since become a vocal critic of Biden.
But, Psaki hit back as she compared the Trump transition period to Game of Thrones – adding: “we’re still in recovery from [it].”