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Jen Psaki Leaves Biden in Limbo After ‘Just OK’ Stephanopoulos Interview: I Don’t Know ‘The Best Path Forward’

mediaite.com 2024/7/16

If President Joe Biden was counting on a lifeline — amid a tidal wave of bad press — from his former press secretary, he didn’t get it.

In her opening monologue Sunday on MSNBC, Jen Psaki delivered her assessment of the state of play for Democrats in the 2024 presidential election. Noting that the “panic” inside the party “has definitely not gone away,” the former White House spokesperson bluntly stated she is unsure about “the best path forward.”

“The questions I know I’m getting from text messages from friends, from family are twofold: What’s going to happen and what is the best path forward?” Psaki said. “And I’m not going to sit here this afternoon and tell you I know the answer to either question.”

As of early Sunday, five House Democrats have called on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race — and that number figures only to grow as lawmakers return from Capitol Hill on Monday. But beyond those explicit calls from elected Democrats, Psaki noted that “longtime loyalists” may also be wavering on whether Biden should stay in the race.

“Just yesterday, a current senior White House official who The New York Times described importantly as ‘having worked with Biden during his presidency, vice presidency and on the 2020 campaign,’ said that he should not seek reelection,” Psaki said. “Now, this person wasn’t named and we don’t know who it is. But I can tell you there aren’t too many people who fit that description. It’s basically an indication that even longtime loyalists may have serious doubts about his path forward.”

Psaki added that she didn’t believe the president got any sort of boost from his Friday interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos.

“I would say it went just okay for the president,” Psaki said. “When the interview ended, it left us all in this sort of purgatory for the moment. It was better than debate, not a home run at all.”

Psaki, though, said Democrats will have to act fast if they want to pursue “a different path forward.”

“The clock is ticking,” Psaki said. “That’s just a fact.”

Watch above, via MSNBC.