Media top headlines October 19
In media news today, Huma Abedin shares the moment Anthony Weiner admitted he shared a lewd photo, liberals lash out at Jon Stewart over his comments on Donald Trump, and CNN's Chris Cillizza uses Colin Powell's death to lecture Republicans
White House press secretary Jen Psaki offered little in the way of explanation for the administration's debunked claim Build Back Better plan will cost "zero dollars," simply telling the press to take her word for it.
President Biden's spending package is projected to cost $3.5 trillion. But the president and his supporters have argued the plan is "fully paid for by ensuring big corporations and the very wealthy pay their fair share." Having continued to run with the $0 narrative, Psaki was pressed by journalists to provide an explanation.
"Does the president still believe that Build Back Better will not add a dime to the national debt?" a reporter asked Psaki at her briefing Tuesday.
"Correct. It won't," she said in return.
When the reporter followed up by asking, "Why should Americans believe that?" Psaki said, "Because it won't."
Viewers slammed Psaki for her flippant response.
WHITE HOUSE CONTINUES TO PUSH DEBUNKED ZERO-COST CLAIM ON BIDEN'S AGENDA
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Rachel Bovard, senior tech columnist at The Federalist, compared Psaki's response to the recent coverage of the president's son Hunter Biden's laptop controversy.
BIDEN TEAM RIPPED AS ‘ECONOMICALLY ILLITERATE’ FOR CLAIM BUILD BACK BETTER COSTS ‘ZERO DOLLARS’
National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Chris Hartline joined those who wondered how Psaki could continue to claim Build Back Better won't add to the national debt.
"How can you say from the podium that a bill that doesn't exist and certainly hasn't been scored by the CBO won't add a dime to the national debt?" he asked.
(Reuters)
Psaki then mimicked Speaker Nancy Pelosi's, D-Calif., lecture from last week by asking journalists to report more accurately on the president's agenda. At a Capitol Hill press conference last week, Pelosi blamed the press for new polling that showed only 10% of Americans knew "a lot of the specifics" about Build Back Better. When asked if the White House needed to get better at messaging, Pelosi told reporters they "could do a better job" selling Biden's economic plan.
"Well I think you all could do a better job of selling it, to be very frank with you," Pelosi responded, saying the media has not done justice to the list of items in the bill, such as Family Medical Leave. "Every time I come here, I go through the list … It is hard to break through when you have such a comprehensive package."
Biden first claimed his agenda cost "zero dollars" last month amid Democratic infighting. Moderate Democratic senators like Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz., and Joe Manchin, W. Va., have balked at the price tag.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the debt ceiling during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci)
"My Build Back Better Agenda costs zero dollars," Biden tweeted last month. "Instead of wasting money on tax breaks, loopholes, and tax evasion for big corporations and the wealthy, we can make a once-in-a-generation investment in working America. And it adds zero dollars to the national debt."
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Biden's team was ripped by both liberals and conservatives, with some calling the administration "economically illiterate" or math-challenged.
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