White House press secretary Jen “Circle Back” Psaki — probably one of the most unskilled press secretaries in the history of the White House — resorting to mocking former President Donald Trump’s highly-anticipated return to politics during this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
According to the Washington Examiner, on Tuesday, Psaki addressed reporters after she was asked what President Joe Biden thinks about Trump’s return to the microphone, which will take place on Sunday.
“I wouldn’t say he’s thought a lot about the former president’s visit to — I was going to say ‘performance,’ maybe that’s appropriate — at CPAC,” Psaki said, smugly.
The reason Psaki was asked about Trump’s upcoming and greatly-anticipated speech at the influential conservative gathering is that sources reportedly indicated that Trump will not only make clear that he intends on a 2024 comeback, but that he’ll also spend plenty of time taking jabs at the Biden administration’s growing list of political screw-ups.
That information presumably prompted Psaki to leave the door open for an official response from Biden, even though she said he’s more focused on the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccination rollout.
“There’s been more than enough time spent on former President Trump, and so, if there’s not a reason to do it, we’re probably not going to be adding more commentary on it,” Psaki said.
CPAC has already generated a number of headlines, with the main one revolving around former Vice President Mike Pence’s rejection of an invitation to speak or even attend the 2021 CPAC. The decision came as somewhat of a surprise to leaders of the conference, who indicated that Pence has logged more than a dozen speaking appearances at the conference in the past.
According to the Washington Examiner, CPAC Executive Director Dan Schneider was clearly disappointed in Pence’s snub, calling the move a “mistake,” and insisting that if Pence showed up, he would be greeted “warmly.”
“We are pleased that the president will be joining us, and we’re disappointed the vice president’s not coming. We think it’s a mistake for him not to come. We conservatives think of Vice President Pence with great honor and dignity. He is a real champion of conservatism,” Schneider said over the weekend.
This year’s conference, which is being held in Florida, as the state is one of the most lockdown-friendly states in the nation and allows gatherings, will draw a number of high-profile conservative speakers.
Some of those speakers include Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former Trump Cabinet secretary Ben Carson, and former acting director of national intelligence Ric Grenell.
Trump, who loves to make an entrance, along with the fact that it will be his first time behind a microphone in front of a large, friendly audience, will likely drop verbal nukes all over the Biden administration. With that being said, Psaki better start preparing some talking points, because I have a feeling she’ll be tasked with defending her new boss, come next week.
Article Source : thefederalistpapers.org
