White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is being criticized after mocking Fox News for covering the consequences of “soft-on-crime” policies rather than other news stories of the day.
As many pointed out on Twitter, in cities nationwide, violent crime has skyrocketed and many blame the “defund the police” movement as well as rogue prosecutors who opt to not pursue crimes such as shoplifting and other illegal behaviors. In previous comments, Psaki has refused to state whether or not those prosecutors and a refusal to enforce the law was to blame for any of the crime-related problems cities that have seen recently.
Psaki’s comments came on January 25 during a segment on the “Pod Save America” podcast with fellow Obama administration alumni Jon Favreau, Daniel Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor. While discussing TVs featured in numerous government buildings in D.C. that display 24/7 news coverage with a split screen showing major news outlets, Psaki compared the coverage on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Fox News.
“Do you remember the four boxes that we had on all the TVs right?” Psaki said on the show. “So right now just to give you a sense,” she continued before reading off what stories the media outlets were currently covering on TV.
“So CNN – ‘Pentagon: As many as 8,500 u.s troops on heightened alert’ — OK, true. .. Same on MSNBC … CNBC is doing their own thing about the market … and then on Fox is Janine Pirro talking about ‘soft-on-crime consequences,’ Psaki said with a laugh. “I mean what does that even mean, right?”
“So there’s an alternate universe on some coverage,” she concluded. “What’s scary about it is a lot of people watch that.”
The Daily Wire has previously reported that in 2021, 12 major U.S. cities set annual homicide records and that every one of those cities was led by a Democratic mayor.
Previously, Psaki dodged the question of whether rising crime was due to soft on crime prosecutors. The Daily Wire reported in December that Psaki refused to say why homicides and other crimes were rising in America:
“Do you think it’s possible that these cities are dealing with these smash and grab robberies right now, an increase in criminal activity, because some prosecutors are too soft on crime?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked.
“I would say we have seen, I’m not going to attribute the reasoning from here, what I will tell you is we have seen an increase in crime over the course of the pandemic. There are a range of reasons for that,” she claimed. “And what our focus is on is what we can do to address it. The President has proposed additional funding in the budget to make sure local police departments and cops have the funding they need. We have also worked directly with police departments in areas where they are seeing the highest impact of the crime, the retail theft, which we have great concern about. That’s what our focus is on currently, is action, and doing what we can to make sure the funding is out there to the communities that need it the most.”
While Psaki may want to ignore the reality of violent crime and that means for Americans, conservatives on Twitter weren’t letting her off the hook.
National Republican Congressional Committee Regional Press Secretary Samantha Bullock tweeted, “In case you were wondering whether the Dem party takes the crime surge in American cities seriously as police officers continue to die in the line of duty…”
In case you were wondering whether the Dem party takes the crime surge in American cities seriously as police officers continue to die in the line of duty… https://t.co/QrQdT4QZXk
— Samantha Bullock (@SamLBullock) January 31, 2022
Over the past two weeks, two New York Police Department officers lost their lives after allegedly being shot by a violent career criminal.
To that extent, Boston radio host and columnist Grace Curely tweeted, “Jen should watch Dominique Luzuriaga’s eulogy for her husband NYPD Officer Jason Rivera. Might help her understand this subject a bit more.”
Jen should watch Dominique Luzuriaga's eulogy for her husband NYPD Officer Jason Rivera. Might help her understand this subject a bit more. https://t.co/wYsk7h4RZu
— Grace Curley (@G_CURLEY) January 31, 2022
The Daily Wire reported last week that Luzuriaga received a standing ovation for eulogy commemorating her late husband while also blasting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s promise to not prosecute certain crimes:
“You have the whole nation on gridlock. And although you won’t be here anymore, I want you to live through me. The system continues to fail us. We are not safe anymore, not even the members of the service [NYPD]. I know you were tired of these laws, especially the ones from the new DA. I hope he is watching you speak through me,” applause interrupted Luzuriaga then, and one by one, members of the audience stood up and continued clapping.
Conservative Beth Bauman characterized Psaki’s comments as “grotesque.”
Criminals are released without any kind of punishment. Officers are being murdered across the country. And Psaki's response is to laugh.
Grotesque. https://t.co/SyJf2wopU1
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) January 31, 2022
Former Trump White House advisor Stephen Miller added, “A truly appalling video. Psaki laughingly mocks those concerned over ‘soft-on-crime consequences,’ as living in an ‘alternate universe.’ ‘What does that even mean?’ Psaki laments. Perhaps she should start by asking the NYPD heroes who lined 5th Avenue to honor their slain comrade.”
A truly appalling video. Psaki laughingly mocks those concerned over “soft-on-crime consequences,” as living in an “alternate universe. “What does that even mean?” Psaki laments. Perhaps she should start by asking the NYPD heroes who lined 5th Avenue to honor their slain comrade. https://t.co/GPIGxa4atb
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) January 31, 2022
There were countless more responses reminding Psaki that the consequences of being “soft-on-crime” look like violence, death, and destruction.
Twitter users aren’t alone in these observations regarding progressive crime policy.
Earlier this month, Former New York assistant district attorneys have harangued Bragg and other prosecutors like him for their soft-on-crime approach as the “definition of insanity.”
“Imagine you’re a clerk in a bodega and are the victim of a knifepoint robbery, not only could the guy not go to jail, he could get charged with a misdemeanor,” Daniel Bibb, a Manhattan assistant district attorney of 24 years, told Fox News. “That is the definition of insanity.”