Ever since Donald Trump started assembling his cabinet and other administration picks, one word seems to be getting repeated over and over by the media: loyalists. Time and time again, the media pretends to be flabbergasted by the notion that Trump has been picking people for his administration who are aligned with his agenda. The horror!
Jen Psaki’s latest appearance on "Meet the Press" was another classic example and a true masterclass in irony and projection, as she managed to criticize Donald Trump for supposedly hiring “loyalists” to do his bidding with “plausible deniability"—conveniently ignoring the track records of her own former bosses, Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
Her rant is worth dissecting—not because it was insightful, but because it perfectly encapsulates the double standards that dominate modern political commentary.
Psaki claimed Trump’s rhetoric about “retribution through success” was some sort of dog whistle for political revenge. “That’s not saying he’s not going to go after his political enemies,” she said, attempting to frame Trump’s remarks as veiled threats.
But curiously, this criticism was nowhere to be found when her former boss, Joe Biden, used his Justice Department to go after his political enemies
Biden’s entire administration has been characterized by a divisive, partisan agenda, including using the Department of Justice to target parents at school board meetings to pursue bogus investigations and raiding Trump's home.
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Psaki didn’t stop there. She tried to dismiss Pam Bondi and Kash Patel as extremists who didn’t need Trump to tell them what to do because “they know what the direction is. He does not need to direct them. This is why he picked them. They have passed the loyalty test.”
Let’s unpack this.
First, the accusation that hiring people who share your worldview is somehow scandalous falls flat coming from someone who worked for Barack Obama—a president who prided himself on surrounding himself with loyalists like Susan Rice, John Clapper, John Brennan, Sally Yates, and, of course, Eric Holder, who openly bragged about being Obama’s wingman.
Obama’s White House was infamous for its echo chamber, where dissenting views were unwelcome. Similarly, Biden’s administration is loaded with longtime Democratic operatives and loyalists who spent decades toeing the party line and never had any intention of governing from the middle the way Biden promised he would during the 2020 campaign.
Psaki’s dig at Kash Patel as someone sympathetic to QAnon is especially rich, considering Biden has allowed conspiracy theories about “white supremacy” and “domestic extremism” to justify federal crackdowns on political opponents. The administration doesn’t even pretend to apply its standards evenly.
Psaki concluded by stating, “It’s more tone, not a difference in what he intends to do or what he wants.” It’s hilarious the way she pretends to be offended by Trump’s rhetoric, but has no problem with Democrats doing the exact same thing—so long as it’s wrapped in polished talking points.
🚨PSAKI: Trump wants loyalists like Bondi and Patel in his admin so that Trump has “plausible deniability” when they target his political enemies:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) December 8, 2024
"They know what the direction is. He does not need to direct them. They have passed their loyalty tests."
Projection meters:… pic.twitter.com/TBp2BlISN7
The selective outrage on display was stunning but not surprising. Psaki has been doing this kind of projection since she left the Biden administration for MSNBC. From prosecuting Trump on questionable charges to targeting January 6 protesters, pro-life advocates, and concerned parents, Biden’s administration exemplifies the very abuses she and the entire political left claim to fear.
