Fox News reporter Peter Doocy grilled White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday on President Joe Biden’s border crisis and about the president’s recent controversial action regarding eviction moratoriums.
The questions from Doocy come as the Biden administration announced a new targeted eviction moratorium on Tuesday, despite the administration saying earlier in the week that it did not have the authority to do so.
Doocy asked Psaki “why isn’t more being done to help the landlords who are struggling to pay their bills because they’re not being paid?”
“Well, actually, the landlords can benefit from exactly the same emergency rental assistance that renters can benefit from,” Psaki claimed.
“But right now, as we understand it, many states are not distributing that money,” Doocy responded. “The Washington Post says that this measure could drive thousands of minor landlords to bankruptcy.”
“Well, that’s exactly why, and I’m happy to have you as a partner in this effort up, we are trying to advocate for states localities to get this money out,” Psaki said. “There’s no reason it’s not going out to landlords, to renters, no reason that people who are eligible are not benefiting. And we’ve seen a number of states, red states and blue states do this very effectively. Texas as an example I used yesterday, Virginia is one I highlighted today. This is why we’re doing as much of this outreach and engagement as we’re doing and simplifying forms, making it easier for people to understand.”
Great questions from Peter Doocy to Jen Psaki about how landlords (and specifically smaller ones) are struggling to pay their bills and stay afloat due to the eviction moratoriums. It's safe to say it's been an issue that's been overlooked in this pandemic by the liberal media. pic.twitter.com/DdVMEddKy6
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 4, 2021
Doocy also pressed Psaki about Biden’s border crisis after border officials encountered an estimated 210,000 people attempting to illegally enter the U.S. during the month of July, the highest number in decades — a development which has spurred calls for impeachment.
Doocy asked Psaki if Biden thinks his immigration plan is working given the fact that the U.S. is seeing “record numbers” of people illegally trying to enter the U.S.
“Well, the President continues to convey to anyone, as you’ve said, who wants to come to the United States, now is not the time to come,” Psaki said. “It is not the time to come and try to go through irregular migration, we want to have an effective process where you can apply for asylum, where you can apply for legal status, we have increased our investment in areas like the Central American Minors program, allowing people to apply from within country, so they are not making that dangerous trip. There’s more that needs to be done. We’ve also instituted a number of additional steps recently, including expedited removals to move people out of the country more quickly.”
“So, the message to migrants is the same even though they are coming at 21-year high, 210,000 encounters at the border last month?” Doocy asked.
“And I would also note the number of people who were who were removed from the border, which is an important part of the context, which is almost half of that number,” Psaki claimed.
“But he’s saying don’t come and they’re coming,” Doocy responded.
“Well, there are a number of factors, as you all know, that are happening in these countries and we’re working to address those as well,” Psaki claimed. “And the vice president is leading those efforts. We don’t expect that to be a switch. But addressing root causes in these countries, corruption, economic downturn, people are fleeing, a range of challenges, persecution, those are issues we need to address at the same time.”
Doocy 🔥: "It's been almost four months since [Biden] told migrants, 'don't come, don't leave your town,' almost two months since [VP Harris] went to Central America to say, 'do not come.' But people are coming in record numbers. Does [he] think his immigration plan is working?" pic.twitter.com/SazGlSUB1o
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 4, 2021