Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Jen Psaki Silences Conservative Reporter Who Asks If Biden Will Demand 'Reparations' From China

Jen Psaki Silences Conservative Reporter Who Asks If Biden Will Demand 'Reparations' From China
WH.gov

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is drawing applause online after she slapped down a query from a conservative reporter implying that China deliberately caused the pandemic.

Psaki had very little time for a New York Post reporter who asked whether Democratic President Joe Biden would follow through on former Republican President Donald Trump's demands that China pay reparations for "letting" the virus escape.


Psaki gave the reporter a simple four-word answer, and when he tried to rephrase the question, she shut him right down. Watch the moment below.

The New York Post, which has been openly pro-Trump throughout the former President's political tenure, has repeatedly published stories and op-eds calling for punishment of China for supposedly allowing the virus to escape and causing the pandemic.

In his question, Post reporter Steven Nelson cited recent remarks from Trump at a Wisconsin rally in which he called upon China to pay reparations to the United States.

Nelson asked Psaki:

"Former President Trump has called for China to pay the United States more than $10 trillion in reparations as a result of letting the coronavirus escape Wuhan and infect other countries..."
"President Biden hasn't called for reparations from China. Does he support them? Does he think that China should pay us financially for what it has allowed to spread?"

Psaki wasted no time slapping down the question. She replied simply:

"Our policy hasn't changed."

And when Nelson attempted to rephrase the query, Psaki interrupted even more pointedly.

"Did you have another question?"

The New York Post, along with many other conservative media outlets, has repeatedly called upon Biden to exact financial retribution on China for the pandemic.

The Biden Administration has not committed to doing so. Rather, Biden called upon U.S. intelligence agencies on May 26 to intensify investigations into how the virus emerged and to report back within 90 days.

Their investigation includes looking into the so-called "lab leak" theory, which posits that the virus was released, either purposefully or accidentally, from a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Conservative media has repeatedly pushed the theory, often as fact and frequently with racist and xenophobic overtones, despite the lack of hard evidence and the fact that investigations into the matter by both the U.S. and the World Health Organization have yet to be completed.

On Twitter, people applauded Psaki for not indulging the question, and condemned the reporter for trafficking in unproven conspiracy theories.










While there is some thin evidence that the virus could have been released from a lab, and the scientific community has not ruled out the possibility of a "lab leak" from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, most scientists agree that the most likely explanation for the virus is that it emerged naturally from an animal host.

More from People/donald-trump

Brad Pitt
Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images

Brad Pitt Opens Up About Going To Alcoholics Anonymous Amid 'Difficult' Split From Angelina Jolie

In 2016, actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt officially separated after 12 years together, with two of those years spent as husband and wife.

The split came after an inflight incident that forced the private plane Pitt, Jolie, and their children were traveling on to make an unscheduled landing and prompted an FBI investigation. Pitt later shared that he was struggling with an alcohol addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Rod Stewart; Donald Trump
Ethan Miller/Getty Images; Carlos Barria - Pool/Getty Images

Rod Stewart Explains Why He's No Longer Friends With Trump In Blistering Interview

Singer Sir Rod Stewart and MAGA Republican President Donald Trump might seem like an odd pairing, but the two were once good friends, according to the Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

And they actually have several things in common.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thomas Massie; Donald Trump
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Suzanne Plunkett/Pool/Getty Images

GOP Rep. Offers Snarky Clapback After Trump Kicks Him Out Of MAGA For Criticizing Iran Attack

Kentucky Republican Representative Massie offered a snarky response after President Donald Trump said "MAGA doesn't want him" following Massie's criticism of Trump's unilateral decision to bomb Iran and the spending package presented in the "Big Beautiful Bill."

Massie spoke out following Trump's decision to authorize a series of intense U.S. air and submarine strikes targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities, amid ongoing uncertainty about the status of Tehran’s nuclear program. The threat of a wider conflict in the Middle East is on everyone's minds as tensions between Iran and Israel—now openly aided by the U.S.—intensify.

Keep ReadingShow less
Las Vegas sign
welcome to fabulous las vegas nevada signage

People Reveal The Times 'What Happens In Vegas' Did Not Stay In Vegas

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"...

The age-old slogan encourages visitors to put their fears and inhibitions to the side while indulging in all that "Sin City" has to offer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marjorie Taylor Greene; Donald Trump
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

MTG Goes Off On Trump Over Iran Attack—And Warns Of What Could Happen Next

Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized President Donald Trump in a lengthy post on X following his unilateral decision to bomb Iran over the weekend.

Greene is one of the most devout MAGA adherents in Congress, so her policy split is rare but shows just how deeply Trump has angered his own base since he authorized a series of intense U.S. air and submarine strikes targeting three Iranian nuclear facilities, amid ongoing uncertainty about the status of Tehran’s nuclear program

Keep ReadingShow less