White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday slammed Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn for asking 'who is in charge' and claiming Bide...
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday slammed Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn for asking 'who is in charge' and claiming Biden's tweets are 'unimaginably conventional' and 'scripted'
Psaki was asked about Cornyn's tweet suggesting the White House has opted to hold back Biden from regular press conferences, instead parceling out his media appearances and scripting them to a substantial extent.
'The president is not doing cable news interviews. Tweets from his account are limited and, when they come, unimaginably conventional,' Cornyn wrote. 'The public comments are largely scripted. Biden has opted for fewer sit down interviews with mainstream outlets and reporters.'
'Invites the question: is he really in charge?' Cornyn added in a retweet of his own observation.
Psaki was asked for the White House respond to Cornyn's criticism at her daily White House briefing.
'I can confirm that the president of the United States does not spend his time tweeting conspiracy theories, he spends his time working on behalf of the American people,' she said.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden doesn't spend time 'tweeting conspiracy theories' as she blasted GOP Sen. John Cornyn following his attack on White House media strategy
The former Republican whip took heat on Twitter after he called Biden's tweets 'unimaginably conventional'.
President Trump regularly gave elected Republicans like Cornyn heartburn by tweeting on everything from celebrities to controversial protests and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.
A Politico story Cornyn was ferring to quoted Deputy White House deputy communications director Kate Berner saying: 'We're not interested in making everyone crazy on Twitter. We're interested in driving the message that Americans around the country know what their government is doing for them and how their taxpayer dollars are being used and feel confident in the administration.'
The story itself included the phrase 'unimaginably conventional' – which Cornyn sent out in his own tweet, without attaching quotation marks. His attack echoed some of Trump's attacks on Biden during the campaign, where Trump repeatedly faulted him for doing media appearances from his basement amid the pandemic. (The strategy may have shielded Biden from committing gaffes that Trump might have exploited).
Cornyn's tweet got a retweet from Biden critic Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who snipped a clip from 'Weekend at Bernie's II' – again suggesting that Biden was a puppet.
Biden has kept some elements of Trump's press strategy: frequently taking quick questions from Reporters when boarding Marine One or after staged events. But he has held a single formal press conference, and has avoided constant sparring with the press that made early Trump press events must-see television for politics watchers.
The blast from Psaki came as Biden himself – in a gesture that itself likely involved layers of staff – trolled critics with a tweet defending vice president Kamala Harris – calling her 'last voice in the room' on big decisions after a top Republican questioned who was in charge.
To back up the assertion, the president included an image of the two of them talking inside the Oval Office – with Harris leaning in and gesturing, while Biden sits back in a chair with his jacket off as he appears to take in whatever information she is providing. Both of them are masked.
'When I served as Vice President, I asked to be the last person with the President before big decisions were made — and @VP is providing the same counsel to me,' Biden wrote. 'She’s the last voice in the room and never fails to speak the truth as we work to build our nation back better.'
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) hit the Biden White House by sending around a Politico story that called Biden's tweets 'unimaginably conventional,' a proposition Corny appeared to adopt
Cornyn's tweet came after Senate Republicans spent years complaining about Donald Trump's tweets
Cornyn's slams on Biden pick up attacks President Donald Trump made during the campaign. Trump repeatedly hit Biden for holding virtual campaign events from his basement and claimed aides wrote his remarks and told him what to say
President Joe Biden tweeted Monday about his vice president, Kamala Harris, saying she 'never fails to speak the truth' and provides counsel to him. Biden's tweet came without explanation after Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked whether he was 'really in charge'
Biden has long told the story of securing a commitment from Barack Obama that he get to be the last person in the room for major decisions, and by most accounts he became a top advisor to the president.
His tweet came after Biden designated Harris as his point person to focus on the migrant crisis at the border – the kind of difficult assignment he took on for Obama while helping steer the stimulus package.
The high-profile task came as a flood of unaccompanied minors continues to seek entry and the nation struggles to provide proper housing. Harris faced immediate questions about when she plans to visit the border as a demonstration of the effort. She has yet to do so.
The administration has continued to face questions about how it will deal with the crisis, after March statistics showed border agents encountered 172,000 migrants at the border - including 19,000 unaccompanied minors.
Harris has frequently been at Biden's side during media events, where Biden delivers the main administration message
President Joe Biden (R) and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia, on March 19, 2021 to tour the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
SNACK TIME! Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with workers outside of the Brown Sugar Bakery in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood during a quick stop on April 06, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Vice President Harris also made a stop at a COVID-19 vaccination center during her visit
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly sought to cast Biden, 78, as having lost a step, repeatedly slapping the label 'sleepy Joe' on him, although in remarks at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend he reportedly mocked him as 'saintly Joe.'
The White House has not yet said when Harris will visit the border, although she has traveled to her home state of California and held events in Illinois.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki snapped last week when a reporter asked about her decision to visit a minority owned bakery and whether she was quietly backing off while the administration pursued enforcement at the border.
'And so, while she was there, like many Americans, she got a snack. I think she’s allowed to do that,' Psaki snapped.
That hasn't kept media outlets including DailyMail.com from noting Harris' travel schedule, which also included a trip to her home state of California.
'Where is Kamala? (hint: still not at the border),' wrote former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, a potential presidential candidate.
Harris on Sunday tweeted out an image of herself in flight aboard Air Force Two. It showed her seating in a monogramed chair that said 'vice president of the United States.'
'Brighter days are ahead,' she wrote, without explanation.
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