During a recent White House press briefing, John Gizzi of the far-right conservative network Newsmax asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki about a supposed "secret memo" that, in his words, claimed the "price tag" on Joe Biden's $2.25 trillion infrastructure bill "is $1 trillion off."
Psaki, who has quickly developed a reputation for deftly dismissing fabricated stories and bad-faith arguments, knew exactly how to handle the "secret memo" question.
Gizzi asked:
"The other thing on the infrastructure package, there is a private memo that's being circulated in the business community and to some Republican senators that said that the $2.25 trillion price tag is $1 trillion off. And that there's many things in there that were omitted in the initial discussion of the bill."
"This is being circulated on the Hill, do you have any response to the charge that the president low-balled the price tag on the infrastructure bill?"
Keeping a straight face, Psaki responded:
"Sounds mysterious, the memo -- the secret memo."
The Press Secretary went on to say:
"We laid out very specifically each component of the package and how much we're proposing, so I'd encourage y'all to get your calculators out and charge that up and see how it compares to the secret memo."
Twitter couldn't help but laugh at Psaki's not-so-subtle snark.
Gizzi's true motivations in asking the question seemed obvious to many: make the Biden administration's new infrastructure bill seem bigger and scarier than it is.
We may never know what was on the legendary secret memo!
Jen Psaki continues her undefeated run of sass, addressing bad faith questions from reporters with the calm dismissiveness they deserve.
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