Liberals are cheering following a heated exchange between White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Emerald Robinson, a reporter for far-right network Newsmax.
In her question, Robinson respondents to a poll felt Democratic Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg—who became a father to twins in September—should end his paternity leave and return to work.
Psaki responded by informing Robinson Buttigieg is still working during his leave, then called out the barely concealed agenda of her line of questioning.
See the moment below.
Emerald: A poll found that 65% of voters\u2026 thinks he should go back to work \nPsaki: He\u2019s at work\nEmerald: He\u2019s on paternity leave\nPsaki: I was on a conference call with him this morningpic.twitter.com/XWKcbnm7QU— Acyn (@Acyn) 1634666214
In her question, Robinson claimed—without providing citation or other evidence—a recent poll revealed 65% of voters thought Buttigieg should return to work.
Psaki had a very simple three-word rebuttal.
"He's at work."
When Robinson retorted Buttigieg is on paternity leave, implying he couldn't possibly be working, Psaki set her straight.
"I was on a conference call with him this morning."
When Robinson then continued pushing back, Psaki interrupted her and instead of responding to her question, responded to what Robinson seemed to be implying instead.
"Listen, Emerald, I think what you're getting at here is this question of whether men, parents, women, should have paternity and maternity leave."
"And the answer is absolutely yes. In our view, that is the policy of this administration, that is what we're pressing to make law so it's a reality for women, parents, fathers across the country and we're not going to back away from that."
Though Robinson continued her line of questioning, she was obviously knocked back on her heels, stammering about Secretary of Transportation is a different kind of job than a rank-and-file American's.
Psaki wasn't having this either.
Jen Psaki has to treat Emerald Robinson like a child because she won't stop talking when Psaki tries to call on other reporterspic.twitter.com/yUYrZVEd2M— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1634666279
Psaki said:
"They should have this time to bond with their children. I'm not going to apologize for that from here."
On social media, people applauded Psaki for her no-nonsense response to Robinson's questioning.
SO TRUE!!— JM \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc99 #DemCastWI \ud83c\udf0a \ud83c\udf08 (@JM \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc99 #DemCastWI \ud83c\udf0a \ud83c\udf08) 1634731957
That\u2019s Grace! To be able to put someone in their place with a smile on your face, while keeping polite, Psaki sure had grace.— Kate (@Kate) 1634667967
I am a man, I took paternity leave, it was unpaid but was covered under FMLA. I have every right to be there for my daughter and to bond just like her mom did. Case closed it should be covered for all.— Troop of the Blue Wave Resistance (@Troop of the Blue Wave Resistance) 1634666417
Emerald be like:pic.twitter.com/V0Z2Dkv7CI— newt, GIFmaster General (@newt, GIFmaster General) 1634666566
Wait until someone tells Emerald that people can work from home.pic.twitter.com/ZUlI369zJD— Matrix Moma (@Matrix Moma) 1634666590
Psaki's "B.S. Tolerance Level" is set marvelously low. I love it.— Godzilla Haiku (@Godzilla Haiku) 1634671906
Psaki is a master at shutting down passive aggressive "reporters" from extremist news sites.— 91BElliott (@91BElliott) 1634666919
We don't need a \u201cbody language expert\u201d to shed light on Psaki's opinion of Robinson.\n\nThis is an actual image of Psaki whenever Robinson asks a question:pic.twitter.com/AJ7T6C7pwS— NotATweeter16 (@NotATweeter16) 1634338518
\u201cListen Emerald\u2026\u201d\nThat would be Emerald Robinson of NewsMax, who formerly worked for OANN.\nJenn Psaki is masterful.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1450521354642464778\u00a0\u2026— Lyn Harris (@Lyn Harris) 1634668276
This face killed me lol. It speaks volumespic.twitter.com/mkSz16R6Xp— TeaRobot (@TeaRobot) 1634666968
Robinson's questioning is just the latest attack mounted by conservatives against Buttigieg becoming a father.
Conservatives were outraged by his and husband Chasten's first photo with their new babies in September and Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked the couple's paternity leave last week.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter