Psaki avoids Trump impeachment trial questions, says of Biden, ‘He's not a pundit'

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For the third day in a row, White House press secretary Jen Psaki sidestepped repeated questions about President Biden’s opinion on the Trump impeachment trial. 

"Joe Biden is the president. He’s not a pundit," Psaki told reporters Thursday in a White House briefing room. "He’s not going to opine on the back-and-forth arguments in the Senate, nor is he watching them."

"He's not on the jury. He's not in the Senate," she added. 

Asked how the public "should interpret his silence," Psaki said: "The American public should read it as his commitment on delivering on exactly what they elected him to do, which is not to be a commentator on the daily developments of an impeachment trial."

One reporter asked if Biden had had conversations with potentially "wavering" Republicans. "That's not the role he's playing," the press secretary said, adding that he's had conversations with members of both parties about his American rescue plan. 

At one point Psaki was asked if it was Biden’s "obligation" to weigh in on the trial given the public interest. The press secretary pointed to questions Biden took Thursday morning.

Biden said that he thought minds would be changed by the graphic videos House impeachment managers pulled up Tuesday and Wednesday.

Biden said he "didn’t watch any of the hearing live" but saw news coverage.

"My guess is some minds may be changed," Biden said.

BIDEN ARGUES NEW VIDEOS IN TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL HELP DEMOCRATS' CASE 

Asked if that meant that Biden now thinks conviction a possibility for former President Trump, Psaki said, "You know I think he said, 'or they may not.'

"He was not intending to give a projection or a prediction, but was just giving a very human and emotional response to what many people did, or how many people felt, I should say, when they watched the video." 

DEMS IN TRUMP TRIAL USE GRAPHIC VIDEO OF CAPITOL ATTACK

In one of the videos, rioters were seen berating and beating Capitol Police officers as they were trying to stop the mob from entering the Capitol. A clip showed President Trump encouraging supporters to "fight like hell" against the election results. 

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Other video on Wednesday showed GOP Sen. Mitt Romney and Vice President Mike Pence being escorted away from the mob in a narrow escape.