White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged a question on Tuesday on whether inflammatory remarks made by Democrats were different than remarks made by former President Donald Trump.
The question from NBC News’s Kristen Welker comes as Democrats have launched a second impeachment against Trump claiming that he incited a riot at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6.
“Let me ask you, as millions of people tune in to watch this trial presumably throughout the week, they’re going to see the former president’s lawyers argue based on the briefs that they have filed that some Democrats have used incendiary rhetoric,” Welker said. “They are going to point to Representative Maxine Waters, for example, who in 2018 called on supporters at a rally to confront and at one point harass Trump officials over their support of the child separation policy, the zero tolerance policy. That’s something that Cedric Richmond said she had a constitutional right to express those views, so how does the White House view that as any different?”
“Look, Joe Biden is the president. He’s not a pundit,” Psaki responded. “He’s not going to opine on the back and forth arguments, nor is he watching them that are taking place in the Senate.”
WATCH:
Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki refuses to condemn past Democrat calls to harass and confront Republican officialshttps://t.co/0LPOREtNi7 pic.twitter.com/XfEt8Ygq5U
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PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:
KRISTEN WELKER, REPORTER: A couple of questions on the COVID package that President Biden is presenting. First on impeachment. Today, there’s going to be a debate over the constitutionality of the process, whether it’s constitutional to try and try to remove from office of former president. Does President Biden have any concerns that this trial could set a dangerous precedent for the institution of the presidency?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, President Biden, we put out a statement following the conclusion of the House vote just a couple of weeks ago, and he made clear in that statement that he felt the process should proceed as history and many laws predetermined, and he is going to wait for the Senate to determine the outcome of this. But his view is that his role should be currently focused on addressing the needs of the American people, putting people back to work, addressing the pandemic.
WELKER: Does he see it as constitutional?
PSAKI: I don’t think that’s for me or us to opine one. Obviously, he said that the process should proceed, and it’s doing exactly that.
WELKER: Let me ask you, as millions of people tune in to watch this trial presumably throughout the week, they’re going to see the former president’s lawyers argue based on the briefs that they have filed that some Democrats have used incendiary rhetoric. They are going to point to Representative Maxine Waters, for example, who in 2018 called on supporters at a rally to confront and at one point harass Trump officials over their support of the child separation policy, the zero tolerance policy. That’s something that Cedric Richmond said she had a constitutional right to express those views, so how does the White House view that as any different?
PSAKI: Look, Joe Biden is the president. He’s not a pundit. He’s not going to opine on the back and forth arguments, nor is he watching them that are taking place in the Senate.