Jen Psaki was asked by fellow MSNBC host Ali Velshi if she was concerned about the Trump administration “coming after” her ― and her reply took an unexpected turn.
Velshi, who was guest-hosting “All In” on Friday, was handing off to Psaki and her show “The Briefing” when he asked a probing question about President Donald Trump’s aggression against reporters and others he perceives as enemies.
“People ask me as a journalist, ‘Are you, you know, worried about the way things are going with this administration, them coming after you and all that kind of stuff?’” Velshi said.
“And I think whatever my answer is it’s like double for you, right? You’re a journalist and you were in the administration,” he added, referring to her stint as White House press secretary for former President Joe Biden.
“I need to find out if you’re scared because if you’re not scared then I’m good,” Velshi finished.
“You know, I try not to be,” Psaki answered. “I only get scared when it relates to my kids and threats I get to my home. We all get ’em. But otherwise, look, I think we’re both so fortunate to have this ability to say what we think and share hopefully insights on our best days about what’s happening. And that’s a huge gift, so that’s what I try and think about.”
Among recent actions against the fourth estate, Trump sued The Wall Street Journal and reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo for billions of dollars, claiming their allegation about Trump’s suggestive birthday letter to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2003 was “malicious” and would cause “overwhelming financial and reputational harm.”
CBS News took a hit when Trump squeezed a $16 million settlement out of parent company Paramount after complaining about routine edits made by “60 Minutes” in an interview with Kamala Harris before the election. He claimed the cuts would improve her chances of victory. Experts said the capitulation would impair freedom of the press, not to mention that it looked like Paramount was caving to the administration because it would need the administration’s approval for its eventual merger with Skydance media.
Trump has also routinely berated reporters who ask questions he doesn’t like.
Check out Psaki’s threat assessment in Mediaite’s clip of the exchange here.
