Press secretary Jen Psaki speaks at a White House press briefing on Jan. 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
A new piece from Politico Magazine offered readers a glimpse into how nice most White House correspondents are to the current administration, especially compared to how they treated the last one.
One doozy of a quote from "The Friday Read," which remarks on how "boring" the Biden White House has been for reporters, featured a journalist admitting they would feel like an "a--hole" for questioning White House press secretary Jen Psaki too aggressively.
The sympathetic anecdote mentioned how "good" Psaki was at her job and made a direct comparison of how professional she is next to Trump press secretaries who were destroying "democracy."
Quoting the anonymous reporter, Politico White House correspondent Max Tani, wrote, "’Jen [Psaki] is very good at her job, which is unfortunate,’ one reporter who has covered the past two administrations from the room said. ‘And the work is a lot less rewarding, because you’re no longer saving democracy from Sean Spicer and his Men’s Warehouse suit. Jawing with Jen just makes you look like an a--hole."
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The piece struck the tone that Trump’s erratic "attention-seeking, Beltway-panic-inducing" behavior was over and now the calm and "dulling down" of the Biden White House is here to stay. Thus, there has been nothing too controversial to grapple with.
"The dulling down of the White House beat is not due to a lack of reportorial talent in the room," Tani wrote, adding, "Rather, what is happening is the fulfillment of a central Biden promise. Running for office against Donald Trump — the most theatrical, attention-seeking, Beltway-panic-inducing president in living memory — he pledged to make Washington news boring again."
Tani then declared, "And, well, mission accomplished sir."
Jerry Dunleavy mocks Politico's latest piece depicting White House correspondents being very sympathetic to the Biden administration.
D.C. Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy shared screenshots from the piece with the Biden-sympathetic quotes to Twitter and wrote, "This is the most pathetic thing I have ever read."
He tweeted "LOL" in response to Tani’s "mission accomplished" quote, then commented, "I love the idea that Washington news is boring when in the first year of Biden’s presidency we’ve had the end of the war in Afghanistan (disastrous withdrawal, capitulation, Taliban takeover, 13 dead Americans, etc.) and Russia’s (potentially world-changing) invasion of Ukraine."
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In another tweet, Dunleavy wrote, "BTW what possible good reason could there be for Politico to grant this reporter anonymity? also, it is Men’s ***Wearhouse***, not Warehouse. excellent mix of snobbery & lack of attention to basic detail."
Newsbusters Executive Editor Tim Graham mocked Tani over his apparent liberal bias and also pointed out the correct spelling of Men’s Wearhouse in his tweet responding to the story. "Someone rescue @maxwelltani from the liberal media bubble he's living in. Can he breathe in there? But hey, he wouldn't be caught DEAD in a Men's Wearhouse."
Matt Whitlock criticizes Politico's article on White House media coverage.
Republican communications guy Matt Whitlock shared Dunleavy’s tweet, and wrote, "Washington news isn’t boring .. the media is just less enthusiastic about the villains."