Psaki defends debate prep team: ‘Biden was bad’

Nick Robertson

1 July 2024 at 3:52 pm·2-min read

MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki, who once served as President Biden’s press secretary, defended his campaign amid criticism of the president’s debate performance last week, instead pinning the blame on the president.

Psaki said it is “absurd” to blame Biden’s prep team for his poor performance.

“It was a bad debate. I have no doubt they were tough, strategic and direct. (Believe me I have seen them in action) but prep does not always determine the outcome,” she said on social platform X. “Biden was bad. Important convos about what happens next. But if you are directing your ire at ‘prep’ you are not talking about the right things.”

Ron Klain, a senior Biden adviser who helped prepare the president, responded to Psaki with a “thank you.”

Biden’s rocky performance has set off a party-wide discussion on whether Biden should step aside as the Democratic nominee for president.

The blame game has also surfaced, with fingers being pointed at staff, Biden’s family, the president himself and the media over the poor performance.

Biden acknowledged during a campaign rally on Friday that he was a better debater in the past, but he also cast the campaign against former President Trump as being bigger than politics.

“Folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to,” Biden said at a campaign rally in Raleigh, N.C.

“But I know what I do know,” he continued. “I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. And I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. And I know what millions of Americans know: When you get knocked down, you get back up.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.

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