White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confounded reporters Friday when clarifying a presidential answer during a Thursday CNN Town Hall.
President Joe Biden was asked during the Town Hall why he has not visited the United States-Mexico border, the site of an ongoing migrant crisis. Biden responded he had “been there before.”
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy questioned Psaki about Biden’s comments at a White House press conference the next day. “Why did President Biden say he has been to the border?” Doocy asked Psaki.
“As you may have seen, there’s been reporting that he did drive through the border when he was on the campaign trail in 2008,” Psaki replied. “And he is certainly familiar with the fact — and it stuck with him — with the fact that in El Paso, the border goes right through the center of town.”
The press secretary insisted the most important thing that people should know and understand is that the president has worked on this issue throughout his career and is well-versed in every aspect of our immigration system, and that includes the border. She added Biden “does not need a visit to the border to know what a mess was left by the last administration.”
This incident comes just after reports surfaced showing Border Patrol agents have recorded a record number of encounters with illegal aliens in 2021, reaching almost 2 million. That does not include those detected by agents but not apprehended.
Washington Examiner Editor Seth Mandel tweeted his disgust with Psaki’s remarks: “Psaki is disturbingly comfortable mouthing nonsensical spin and gaslighting like this. I’ll never understand how some are perfectly wired for the shamelessness that politics often requires of ppl.”
South Carolina Congressional candidate Graham Allen mocked her response, saying, “I drove by a hospital once in 2008… Now, I know everything about it.”
Blaze TV host Sara Gonzales piled on Psaki with her Twitter post. “Where did she get this talking point from – THE BABYLON BEE?!,” she asked.
Daily Wire Editor Ben Shapiro quipped, “Gonna use this excuse next time my wife asks me if I went to the grocery store like she asked.”
A Washington Post fact check questions if Biden really ever visited the border, characterizing it as more of a “drive-by.”
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