Should Jen Psaki do what she might do and leave the White House for MSNBC, she’s going to have to find a new sparring partner. Ever since taking the job as President Joe Biden’s press secretary, she’s had to deal with Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. Few days go by without him pestering her with a Republican talking point, which invariably ends with her patiently explaining a basic thing to him or poking holes in his logic.
But their squabbles rarely get big laughs from Doocy’s fellow reporters. On Monday, he asked about something legitimately troubling: A Trump-appointed federal judge shut down the CDC’s mask mandates on public transportation, including planes and trains. Cases and death are low, but hundreds of Americans are still dying every day — and that’s not even mentioning the still nascent BA.2 variant.
Doocy brought it up and, two years into a pandemic, asked a very basic question. “Why can we sit here in the White House briefing room with no masks,” he asked, while sitting next to a reporter wearing a mask, “but people can’t sit in an airplane cabin with no masks?”
For the second time in recent weeks, Jen Psaki explains CDC guidance to Peter Doocy like he’s a child pic.twitter.com/W8okaDIqgJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 18, 2022
“Well, Peter, I’m not a doctor and you’re not a doctor, that I’m aware of,” Psaki replied, joshingly. “If you’re a doctor I wasn’t aware of that until today.”
Doocy glumly said he was not. The reporter sitting to his right chimed in, joking, “Or do you play one on TV?” Doocy did not smile.
Psaki then proceeded to explain to Doocy, as though he were a small child or golden retriever, all about the CDC’s “green, yellow and red,” based on matters like the level of cases and transmissibility. D.C. is a green zone. Hence, masks are not required, though they are recommended, especially for those who come into contact with immunocompromised people.
She also explained how the CDC wanted to wait two more weeks before lifting the mandate, giving them a chance to study data and see if it’s safe to lift mandates or not. Instead, a Trump-appointed judge beat them to the punch.
In any case, if Psaki does skedaddle for another gig, perhaps she and Doocy can stay in touch.
(Via Raw Story)