We reported last week on a not-so-subtle rebranding effort being undertaken by the Biden White House to have Vice President Harris’ name featured prominently alongside President Biden’s in all federal communications including the White House website and their social media accounts.
To recap, per the Log Cabin Republicans website OutSpoken, “a leaked email from an employee of a federal government agency reveals the White House is shifting toward a communication strategy that seeks to elevate Vice President Kamala Harris in all official White House business.”
Also according to the website, “the directive … came from a top White House communications team member and instructs all agencies to refer to the Biden administration as the ‘Biden-Harris Administration’ in place of the ‘Biden Administration.'”
While it may not seem like a big deal for some, the New York Post noted that it was a departure from how the previous two presidential administrations handled presidential branding. It also comes at a time when questions are being raised as to just who might really be running things in the White House after a series of flubs and gaffes from Biden over the last two-plus months as well as moments where he appears to be out of sorts and unsure of what’s going on around him.
Today, during the White House press briefing, a reporter came about as close as a member of the White House press corps can get to asking such a question without seeming insensitive, except his came in the form of an inquiry about the White House’s apparent rebranding efforts. White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s answer raised eyebrows. Here’s how the exchange went down:
Reporter: Is there anything to be read into sort of the rebranding of the Biden administration to the Biden and Harris administration? Has —
Psaki: Is it a rebranding?
Reporter: Well, when you look on the website, it’s, you know, not — it’s “Biden-Harris,” and that’s not been necessarily the norm in the past. Is there any message being sent by that? Or what’s meant to be — what can be extrapolated from it?
Paski: I would take from it that Vice President Harris is an important partner. She’s the first in the room and the last in the room on most occasions, if she’s in town and not traveling around the country. It’s a reflection of the important role that she will play moving forward.
Watch:
.@PressSec is asked if “there is any message being sent” by the rebranding of the admin to the “Biden-Harris” administration:
“It is a reflection of the important role that she will play moving forward.” pic.twitter.com/0YIQiwx5pr
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 30, 2021
Did … Psaki just say the quiet part out loud in so many words?
Did Jen Psaki just reveal who is really leading the Biden administration? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/1mpB2RuwWR
— MRCTV (@mrctv) March 30, 2021
It sure sounds like that’s what she did.
That said, considering the “Biden-Harris administration” is already backtracking quite a bit from Biden’s announcement last week that Harris would be leading the administration’s efforts at trying to resolve the border crisis, I’d say the White House including Biden, Harris, chief of staff Ron Klain, and Psaki are all sending mixed signals as to just who is handling what at a time when it could not be more critical for this administration to look like it has its [rhymes with “skit”] together.
And yet, we were told that it would be a “refreshing change” when the supposed adults and experts regained control of the White House on Inauguration Day. When someone spots such a person in this administration, please let the rest of us know because we’re all still searching for one and coming up short.
Related: Reporter Details Kamala Harris’ Road Trip Press Schedule, and a More Troubling Pattern Emerges
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