Politics

Jen Psaki obliterates GOP politicians calling on General Milley to resign

Press Secretary Jen Psaki taking questions on May 7, 2021
Press Secretary Jen Psaki Photo: Screenshot/White House

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki deftly responded to Republican demands that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley resign.

A new book by veteran reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa recounts Milley’s steps to ensure former President Donald Trump didn’t start a war to distract from his election loss.  Milley allegedly called his counterpart in China to reassure them and ordered staff to ignore any orders to launch a nuclear strike unless he personally okay-ed it.

Related: Conservatives seethe with envy as Vogue profiles Jen Psaki but not Melania Trump

Milley “was certain that Trump had gone into a serious mental decline in the aftermath of the election, with Trump now all but manic, screaming at officials and constructing his own alternate reality about endless election conspiracies,” the authors write.

“You never know what a president’s trigger point is,” Milley told his senior staff according to the book, noting that the general worried that Trump would “go rogue.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and other Republican politicians are calling on Milley to resign or for Biden to fire him. When Psaki was asked about the GOP push to undermine military leadership, she was quick to point out the hypocrisy of the situation.

“It’s the obligation of every Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to follow constitutional orders to prevent unlawful military action. That’s what the President believes,” she said. “But it’s also important to understand the context of when this reporting was happening and the fact that the former President was fomenting an insurrection. And there was broad concern from a range of members of his national security team about his behavior and fitness for office.”

“The president has complete confidence in his leadership, his patriotism, and his fidelity to our Constitution,” Psaki explained. “I can’t speak to the former president’s experience with him or the former president’s views of him. But this president — this current president, who follows the constitution, who’s not fomenting an insurrection, who follows the rule of law has complete confidence in Chairman Milley and him continuing to serve in his role.”

“I don’t think the president is looking for the guidance of members of Congress who stood by while the president of the United States and the leader of their party fomented an insurrection and many of them are silent,” she added.

Republicans have also called on Biden to fire National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, earning another smackdown from Psaki.

The quick-witted presidential spokesperson’s cutting responses to ridiculously stupid questions from rightwing reporters have spawned their own hashtag – the #PsakiBomb.

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