On Thursday, it was finally officially announced that Jen Psaki would be Joe Biden’s press secretary no longer. Following months of reporting that she had long since secured a deal to host an opinion program on MSNBC, a major ethics violation as she continued to operate within her official capacity, May 13th will now be her last day.
Her replacement, Karine Jean-Pierre, has taken to the podium several times over Biden’s tenure, and you’ll be less than shocked to learn she’s just as dishonest as Psaki.
But she’s following in her soon-to-be-former boss’ footsteps in more ways than one. Like Psaki, Jean-Pierre already has a big conflict of interest on her hands. Namely, she’s in a relationship with a CNN personality.
President Biden’s trailblazing pick for his new press secretary is already being accused of creating troubling conflicts of interest because of her long-term relationship with star CNN reporter Suzanne Malveaux…
…While Jean-Pierre’s groundbreaking pick for the White House post was widely celebrated, it also left some questioning her and Malveaux’s impartiality. CNN’s recent scandals have included now-axed host Chris Cuomo’s behind-the-scenes meddling in brother and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sex scandals…
…Soon after Jean-Pierre’s new gig was announced, Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of the right-wing news outlet Breitbart, tweeted, “This is one of many examples of the corporate media LITERALLY in bed with the government it covers.”
I’m old enough to remember when CNN’s own media “watchdog,” Brian Stelter, used to gnash his teeth over the connections between the Trump White House and Fox News. And in the most recent case, he complained about Kayleigh McEnany joining Fox News months after the Trump administration ceased to exist.
Yet, here we have the new press secretary for the Biden administration literally in a long-term relationship with a major CNN reporter. I’m struggling to think of a stronger conflict of interest that could exist regarding the White House comms team. Yet, Stelter and the rest have been noticeably silent, with CNN only raining praise down on Jean-Pierre. How very convenient, right?
The news industry wouldn’t have standards at all if they didn’t have double standards. This just happens to be an especially egregious example, but there are many, many more I could cite. Going back to the Obama years, you had officials not just going to do opinion shows on networks like CNN and MSNBC, but becoming “hard news” reporters. Stepping back further, George Stephanopoulos, who once ran Bill Clinton’s war room, is the lead anchor for ABC News.
Jean-Pierre will not be a straight shooter. But we already knew that.
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