After four years of intense tensions between the news media and Donald Trump’s White House, White House news secretary Jen Psaki is promising a much more respectful and informative relationship under Joe Biden’s administration.
“I think more than any point in history, and I do not want to be too intrusive. It is part of the White House press secretary’s job to rebuild trust with the American people,” Psaki told Radio National Public in an interview published on Thursday.
“My aim every day, of course, is to be truthful and transparent and to help uncover the curtains not just for the media and reporters, of course, and those are the people in the room, but for the American people, “she said.
Without naming her former four who served as Trump, Psaki’s comments can be interpreted as criticism of them, all of whom are accused of losing publicity and lying to reporters.
Trump’s presidency began four years ago with his then-secretary Sean Spicer falsely arguing that he was “the largest audience Trump has ever seen – time – personally and globally”. And Trump’s leadership comes to an end with his current press secretary Kaleigh McEnany pushing conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud from the White House information chamber.
Former White House news secretary Sean Spicer began his tenure by giving a false account of the size of Trump’s inaugural population [File: Andrew Harnik/AP Photo]
One other key difference from the Trump administration’s press relations, Psaki noted, is that there will be a significant reduction in anonymous leaks coming from within the White House. Reporters over the past four years have been eating about leaks from sources close to Trump, and many have spoken to reporters to settle internal political scores or, in some cases, to shed light on what was seen to be dangerous violations.
“I have told this to some journalists, anyone who just covered the Trump administration who is looking to continue with a team of workers in the style of‘ Game of Thrones ’will be disappointed very much in anticipation, “said Psaki. “Our aim is to return to policy processes and policy announcements and forthcoming policy experts outlining what the COVID package will look like or what we will do in terms of internal policy. migration. “
While many commentators welcome Psaki and the promise to return to the less controversial pre-Trump relationship between the White House and the media, others are raising red flags. Some argue that Biden, as well as the previous Obama-Biden administration, does not have the best history in terms of publicity or even their handling of the media.
“Biden asserted that he did not like sharp, inconvenient questions such as those about ‘court packing,’ and arrested reporters rather than responding quickly,” Jack wrote. Shafer, Politico’s media writer earlier this month. “He broke up with a reporter who asked about his mental abilities. And he caught a reporter who asked him about a New York Post cover story about his son Hunter. It’s not very open. It’s not very obvious. “
While reporters expect less tension with Biden White House, there are concerns that the president and his team will not be too open or transparent [File: Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo]
Harold Holzer, former conference news secretary and author of The Presidents and the Press, told The Associated Press earlier this month that many White House reporters were “horrified”. with their handling of the Obama administration ”.
“They were told to consult on the White House website for answers to their questions, Obama never showed up … unless he was going to present a cupcake on someone’s birthday. , did not respond to FOIA requests, “Holzer said.
In addition, many reporters in Washington remember the aggressive stance taken by the Obama administration to address the dissemination of sensitive information.
The Media Freedom Foundation noted that the Obama administration imprisoned the highest number of journalistic government sources.
The Obama Justice Department charged more people under the 1917 Sports Act for leaking sensitive information to the public than all the previous administrations combined, the AP reported.
As part of their investigation into leaks, the Department of Justice under Obama Attorney General Eric Holder combed through confidential communications between government sources and journalists.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder strongly sought the leak of the Obama administration and the Department of Justice investigated several journalists [File: Bill Haber/AP Photo]
It was announced that the Department of Justice had obtained the phone records of a Fox News reporter as well as several AP reporters. In the case of Fox reporter James Rosen, the Justice Department also obtained a warrant to examine his personal emails, found his movements in and out of the State Department, on which he was statement, and eventually identified him as a potential “consul” criminal.
Psaki was asked by the NPR directly the return of Biden administration to the days when there was aggressive treatment of leaks, but she did not respond directly.
“Of course, there are different situations, as you know, that came up during the Obama administration,” Psaki said. “And a number of these were under the direction of the Department of Justice at the time. President Biden has not even elected a general lawyer yet. “
“But one of his priorities is to return that region to an independent sector, one that has no political influence from the White House, which will be quite a sea change from our current situation.”