Toward the end of White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s interview Thursday night with “Pod Save America,” podcast co-host Dan Pfeiffer couldn’t let his friend off the hook without a question about her briefing room sparring partner, Fox News White House reporter Peter Doocy.
Harking back to when President Biden was caught on a hot microphone using an epithet to describe Doocy after he asked a question about inflation, Pfeifer asked: “Is he a stupid son of a bitch or does he play a stupid son of a bitch on TV?”
When the live audience at The Anthem in Washington was done laughing, Psaki, whose clashes with Doocy in the White House briefing room have been well documented, responded by blaming Fox News, not Doocy, for questions she claimed the network “provides” to the reporter.
“He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual, including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a bitch,” she said.
Advertisement
Psaki, who is expected to leave the Biden administration and take a new on-air position at MSNBC in the coming weeks, also commended Doocy for not slamming the president during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity after Biden apologized to the White House reporter for his comments.
“You don’t have to like everything Peter Doocy says or does, but that is certainly a moment of grace by Peter Doocy,” she said to applause.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday. A Fox News spokeswoman defended Doocy in a statement to The Washington Post.
“In his role as White House correspondent, Peter Doocy’s job is to elicit truth from power for the American public,” the official said. “His questions are his own, he is a terrific reporter and we are extremely proud of his work.”
Advertisement
Biden’s disdain for Fox has not been a secret, reportedly feeling that the network is “one of the most destructive forces in the United States,” according to reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in their upcoming book, “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.” The president seemingly has similar feelings about Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch, whom he allegedly described to an associate as “the most dangerous man in the world,” Martin and Burns reported.
But that hasn’t stopped the president or his administration from wanting to puncture the No. 1 cable news network’s bubble. Whereas in the past, Fox News spent days condemning Democratic presidents for not responding to hot button topics highlighted on the network, now Doocy sits front-row center during White House briefings. Doocy’s questions to Psaki, some of which reflect Fox’s list of culture-war issues, have produced fireworks and viral moments on social media — and have turned their exchanges into a new briefing room ritual.
The heat between the Biden administration and Fox turned up on Jan. 24 when the president ridiculed Doocy after the reporter asked about inflation and the midterm elections during a White House event on lowering prices for American families.
Advertisement
“It’s a great asset. More inflation,” Biden said sarcastically. He added: “What a stupid son of a bitch.”
Shortly afterward, Biden apologized, saying, “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy with the last answer I gave.” Doocy said the president also called him and told him the comment was “nothing personal.”
“And we went back and forth, and we were talking about just, kind of, moving forward,” Doocy told Hannity hours after the incident.
On Thursday night, Psaki recalled how she watched Hannity’s show the night of Doocy’s segment to see what the reporter would say about the president. She said that while her mind was “really bending and hurting” watching Hannity’s program, she was struck by Doocy’s answer when the Fox host asked him about the exchange with Biden.
“He could have been like, ‘He’s a son of a bitch,’” Psaki told “Pod Save America.” “Instead, he said, ‘You know he called me, we had a really nice conversation. I’m just asking my questions, he’s doing his job.’ So I will say that was a moment of grace.”
Advertisement
In addition to her comments about Doocy, the son of longtime “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy, Psaki addressed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, emphasizing that Biden had no plans to go to Ukraine. Earlier in the day, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) traveled to Ukraine, becoming the first U.S. lawmakers to arrive in the country since the start of the invasion.
Psaki was also asked about her reported deal with MSNBC and how much longer she would be with the Biden administration. She again declined to confirm that she was leaving for the left-leaning cable news network, and would only say she would not be the press secretary forever.
“I don’t know, I don’t have a date or anything like that,” she said, “but at some point, I will be watching from somewhere else.”
Jeremy Barr and Paul Farhi contributed to this report.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLqmsMiaZmtoYmd8cYCOamxoopWjerG%2FwKSgZqiVqbKzecOoppyxXZu8uXnBopuepl8%3D