On MSNBC, Jen Psaki is as annoying as ever

If you are among the vanishing few who believes that what America’s fractured politics really needs is more Sunday talk shows, then former White House press secretary Jen Psaki has come to the rescue. Psaki, a partisan Democrat and former Biden administration mouthpiece, debuted her new show Inside With Jen Psaki on — what else? — MSNBC earlier this month. She occupies the 12 p.m. spot, sparing her competition with more established anchor shows on more frequently watched networks.

“Inside of what?” one might ask. The politest answer would be “inside” the much hated Washington Beltway echo chamber, but one might then ask whether a career Democratic comms operative with no experience as either a journalist or a politician really counts as an “insider.”

Psaki may have thought a makeover could do the trick. A new hairdo that screams Real Housewives of Northern Virginia and a generous wardrobe budget appear to have replaced her aversion to makeup, sartorial leanings toward the Ann Taylor Loft bargain bin, and plain comb-down — all of which bestowed upon her the nickname “Peppermint Patty” when she was at the White House.

But style alone cannot compensate for Psaki’s utter lack of substance. Those who suffered through her painful press briefings will immediately wince at the resumed barrage of “ah’s,” “um’s,” “you know’s” and other rhetorical flubs. Reading from a teleprompter makes her less of a disaster than she was answering reporters’ questions in her last job, but her obvious reliance on it imparts all the savoir-faire of a high school morning announcements broadcast.

The debut program was a mash of tired progressive talking points. The most noteworthy segment castigated Republicans for blaming woke ideology for various political problems, including even those where features of woke ideology are very much in evidence. They included former president Donald J. Trump’s possible indictment by New York’s district attorney Alvin Bragg, who appears to want to charge Trump with a misdemeanor offense and federal campaign finance violations over which he has no jurisdiction, but releases violent criminals without bail in the name of social justice. Psaki also singled out reactions to the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which she claims is a “very complicated issue.” What she didn’t mention was SVB’s $74 million donation to Black Lives Matter, $5 billion commitment to “sustainability,” eleven (out of twelve board) members who have no investment banking experience, and chief risk officer who prioritized diversity programs over what turned out to be major financial liabilities.

Psaki opined that people who point out these deficiencies are pursuing a failed political strategy. She may have forgotten that Virginia, where she apparently resides, elected Glenn Youngkin governor on an ambitious anti-woke platform over a favored old Democratic hand. She did not forget Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s similar agenda, but did manage to leave out that he won his reelection bid by a crushing nineteen points, with lengthy coattails for Florida Republicans in other state elections.

Psaki concluded with a shame post of conservative author Bethany Mandel’s botched response to a gotcha question on another MSNBC program, where Mandel struggled to define “woke.” But one gaffe does not make an argument, and advising her viewers to “let your woke flag fly” might not be the best political advice in a country where 64 percent of Americans — including 48 percent of Democrats — believe cancel culture is a threat to their personal freedom. If she thinks otherwise, Psaki may wish to look over at CNN and consult Brian Stelter, Don Lemon and John Harwood, who were let go or demoted for indulging in political commentary marked by wokeism. If she doesn’t, the small number of Americans who waste their Sundays watching MSNBC might not be seeing her for too long.