The unhinged coven on ABC’s The View busted out their tinfoil hats on Friday, as they peppered White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki with crackpot conspiracy theories suggesting the 2022 midterm elections would be illegitimate because Republicans were stealing away voting rights from black people. All of which are false.
Loopy CNNer and co-host Ana Navarro was the most direct in demanding Psaki answer discredit the elections that were 10 months away. She even seemed frustrated that President Biden had walked back his claims at a Wednesday press conference where he asserted the 2022 results should not be trusted:
Jen, during his marathon press conference, the President also suggested that the next election could be illegitimate if we don't pass voter protections. You’ve clarified that he was talking about Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 results.
But as we speak, there are many, many state measures that would curtail the ability to vote and make it harder to vote by mail, there’s 160 big-lie loyalists who are running for statewide positions that will give them authority over our elections.
“So without reforms, why should voters have faith in the legitimacy of the next election,” she wanted to know.
On Thursday, Psaki had made the rounds to multiple media outlets to reel in Biden’s outlandish accusations. But her Friday response released slack in the line. “Well, voters should be eyes wide open and clear-eyed,” she warned viewers. “And this is what the President was getting at the other night that people are trying to make it harder for people to vote.”
Earlier in the show, co-host Sunny Hostin peddled the big lie that Republicans were specifically targeting black people with supposed “voter suppression laws” and wanted to know why Biden was ignoring the black community (a theme she’d been harping on for a while):
Well, considering – moving on to the voting rights issue. Considering that these voter suppression laws – which is what I believe they are – primarily target people of color, does the President realize that he’s going to be letting down the same black voters that let him into the White House? Why wasn't this prioritized earlier when Americans were so engaged in the fallout from the insurrection?
“Well, he's been engaged in it from the beginning,” Psaki said. “But this is very frustrating, it’s infuriating that some people in the Senate including the entire Republican caucus won't support people's fundamental rights.”
Following Psaki’s answer there, co-host Joy Behar had her knives out for Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Psaki did her best impression of Vice President Kamala Harris (awkward laughter and strange answer):
BEHAR: So, President said he wants to break up his Build Back Better legislation into chunks to try to get it passed. But Senator Manchin is saying we need to start from scratch. Oh, my God. So, what is salvageable, what stays in, what comes out? And how do we know Manchin will even keep his word?
PSAKI: [Laughter] I need a cup of coffee, Joy. I don't know.
This dangerous conspiracy theory peddling was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Dove and Pampers. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s The View
January 21, 2022
11:25:37 a.m. EasternJOY BEHAR: So, as President Biden hits the one-year mark in office, he's scored some major wins, some disappointing loses, and little help from the other side of the aisle. Joining us now to tell us when the administration – where they go from here, please welcome, White House press secretary, the lovely and talented, Jen Psaki!
Hello, Jen.
PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI: Hi Joy! Great to see you all!
BEHAR: You too. I enjoy your press conferences so much.
PSAKI: Thank you.
BEHAR: I do. You should advertise when they're going to be on more though. People need to know when you’re going to be there. More than they are.
PSAKI: Okay, we'll work on it.
BEHAR: Do that.
PSAKI: We’ll work on that. We'll put it more.
BEHAR: All right.
So, one year in, the President has had big achievements, like I said, like his bipartisan infrastructure bill, 6-million-plus jobs added, lower child poverty. But he's also faced some major challenges to his presidency and disunity in his own party. So, what is the biggest lesson he's learned so far and what is he going to do going forward?
(…)
11:31:58 a.m. Eastern
SUNNY HOSTIN: Well, considering – moving on to the voting rights issue. Considering that these voters suppression laws – which is what I believe they are – primarily target people of color, does the President realize that he’s going to be letting down the same black voters that let him into the White House? Why wasn't this prioritized earlier when Americans were so engaged in the fallout from the insurrection?
PSAKI: Well, he's been engaged in it from the beginning. I think the premise there would suggest that Senator Manchin and Senator Sinema and others who opposed the filibuster changes more than them, at the time, would have had a different point of view then. We don’t think that’s true.
But this is very frustrating, it’s infuriating that some people in the Senate including the entire Republican caucus won't support people's fundamental rights. It’s also frustrating that when you talk about voter protections, which is something everybody should have the right to, that some people are putting process ahead of that fundamental protection.
So, we can't give up. We've got to keep at it including and changing the rules to make sure that there's a path forward to move voting rights legislation forward on a federal level.
BEHAR: So, President said he wants to break up his Build Back Better legislation into chunks to try to get it passed. But Senator Manchin is saying we need to start from scratch. Oh, my God. So, what is salvageable, what stays in, what comes out? And how do we know Manchin will even keep his word?
PSAKI: [Laughter] I need a cup of coffee, Joy. I don't know.
(…)
11:43:28 a.m. Eastern
ANA NAVARRO: Jen, during his marathon press conference, the President also suggested that the next election could be illegitimate if we don't pass voter protections. You’ve clarified that he was talking about Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 results.
But as we speak, there are many, many state measures that would curtail the ability to vote and make it harder to vote by mail, there’s 160 big-lie loyalists who are running for statewide positions that will give them authority over our elections.
So without reforms, why should voters have faith in the legitimacy of the next election?
PSAKI: Well, voters should be eyes wide open and clear-eyed. And this is what the President was getting at the other night that people are trying to make it harder for people to vote.
(…)
