Near the end of Wednesday’s White House press briefing, the New York Post’s Steven Nelson irked Press Secretary Jen Psaki with a basic question about whether President Biden “acknowledge[s] his own role” in major crime legislation that leftists argue contributed to the “systemic racism” his administration has claimed they will work to eradicate
Nelson used most of his time to continue his pattern of pressing Psaki on matters concerning federal marijuana policy and its affect on administrative staffing.
After four questions about marijuana, Nelson pivoted to Biden’s comments following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in which he said the murder of George Floyd “ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism in the United States.”
Nelson argued Biden said that despite the fact that “he’s an architect of multiple federal laws in the 1980s and ’90s that disproportionately jailed black people and contributed to what many people see as systemic racism.”
Citing Cornell West as having called Biden one of the core “architects of mass incarceration” that needs to atone for, Nelson wondered: “To what extent does President Biden acknowledge his own role in systemic racism? And how does that inform his current policy positions?”
Psaki wasn’t amused:
Well, I would say one of the president’s core objectives is addressing racial injustice in this country, not just through his rhetoric, but through his actions and what anyone should look to his advocacy for passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, for nominating leaders to the Department of Justice, to address long outdated policies and to ask his leadership team here in the White House to prioritize these issues in his presidency, which is current and today, and not from 30 years ago.
Nelson tried again in seeking an answer about whether Biden views it as “important to accept his own culpability,” but Psaki snapped back that she was done talking to him: “I think I’ve answered your question.”
Like Fox’s Peter Doocy and Kristin Fisher and Real Clear Politics’s Philip Wegmann, Nelson has established quite the track record of asking probing questions aimed at soliciting answers from Psaki, but have instead left her both perturbed and stumped.
To see the relevant transcript from April 21's briefing, click “expand.”
White House Press Briefing
April 21, 2021
1:04 p.m. EasternSTEVEN NELSON: President Biden yesterday, responding to the George Floyd case verdict said that George Floyd’s death, “ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism in the United States.” But he’s an architect of multiple federal laws in the 1980s and ’90s that disproportionately jailed black people and contributed to what many people see as systemic racism. Activist Cornell West said that Biden was one of the core architects of mass incarceration and that, “I think Biden is going to have to take responsibility and acknowledge the contribution he made to mass incarceration.” To what extent does President Biden acknowledge his own role in systemic racism? And how does that inform his current policy positions?
JEN PSAKI: Well, I would say one of the president’s core objectives is addressing racial injustice in this country, not just through his rhetoric, but through his actions and what anyone should look to his advocacy for passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, for nominating leaders to the Department of Justice, to address long outdated policies and to ask his leadership team here in the White House to prioritize these issues in his presidency, which is current and today, and not from 30 years ago.
NELSON: But does he believe it’s important to accept his own culpability for [INAUDIBLE] the system?
PSAKI: I think I’ve answered your question.
