White House press secretary Jen Psaki was grilled during Tuesday’s press briefing over President Joe Biden’s disastrous foreign policy record and was pointedly asked if Biden was living up to his campaign promise to restore America’s credibility around the world.
“The withdrawal from Afghanistan over the summer was widely criticized,” NBC News’ Kristen Welker said. “There are increasing tensions with China and Taiwan, and now you have Russian troops amassing on the border with Ukraine. Candidate Biden campaigned on a pledge to restore America’s credibility on the world stage on his foreign policy experience. Is he living up to that pledge?”
“Well, Kristen, he also campaigned on a promise to bring an end to a 20-year war that should have ended 10 years ago and to bring our troops home, and not to send another son, grandson, granddaughter, or daughter into a war that the Afghans aren’t willing to fight themselves,” Psaki snapped back, ignoring that tens of thousands of Afghan nationals died in the fight for their country. “He also pledged to stand up for democracy and pledged to stand up for countries like Ukraine and their territorial integrity. And that’s something that he is standing up for and vocally doing now, and raising concerns he has about the bellicose rhetoric and the military buildup.”
“And he also pledged to stand up for human rights,” Psaki claimed. “And you saw the decision we made yesterday that’s — not made yesterday, but the announcement, I should say, made yesterday about the decision to not send a diplomatic presence to the Olympics, because he believes it needs to be more than words; it needs to be actions. And I think he is certainly delivering on his values and how he proposed he would be leading in the world.”
WATCH:
.@KWelkerNBC: "The withdraw from Afghanistan…was widely criticized. There are increasing tensions w/China…You have Russian troops…on the border w/Ukraine….Biden campaigned on a pledge to restore America's credibility on the world stage…Is he living up to that pledge?" pic.twitter.com/aXAnaH7eg4
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 7, 2021
TRANSCRIPT:
REPORTER: The withdrawal from Afghanistan over the summer was widely criticized. There are increasing tensions with China and Taiwan, and now you have Russian troops amassing on the border with Ukraine. Candidate Biden campaigned on a pledge to restore America’s credibility on the world stage on his foreign policy experience. Is he living up to that pledge?
JEN PSAKI, PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Kristen, he also campaigned on a promise to bring an end to a 20-year war that should have ended 10 years ago and to bring our troops home, and not to send another son, grandson, granddaughter, or daughter into a war that the Afghans aren’t willing to fight themselves. He also pledged to stand up for democracy and pledged to stand up for countries like Ukraine and their territorial integrity. And that’s something that he is standing up for and vocally doing now, and raising concerns he has about the bellicose rhetoric and the military buildup. And he also pledged to stand up for human rights. And you saw the decision we made yesterday that’s — not made yesterday, but the announcement, I should say, made yesterday about the decision to not send a diplomatic presence to the Olympics, because he believes it needs to be more than words; it needs to be actions. And I think he is certainly delivering on his values and how he proposed he would be leading in the world.