White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is certainly no stranger to dealing with misinformation, but the newest rumor she quashed was certainly a doozy.
She took to Twitter recently to put to rest the rumor the White House has been intentionally sidelining Vice President Kamala Harris.
Psaki's tweet assured folks the Vice President is working on:
“key, important challenges facing the country—from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband."
For anyone who needs to hear it. @VP is not only a vital partner to @POTUS but a bold leader who has taken on key, important challenges facing the country\u2014from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband.— Jen Psaki (@Jen Psaki) 1636942804
Psaki's assurances VP Harris is doing important work may seem a bit random, but her tweet came after an article from CNN titled "Exasperation and dysfunction: Inside Kamala Harris' frustrating start as Vice President."
The CNN story presented a situation in which White House staffers largely ignore the Vice President, while she is frustrated with the lack or support she is getting and the seemingly impossible issues she is expected to solve.
According to CNN:
"Harris is struggling with a rocky relationship with some parts of the White House, while long-time supporters feel abandoned and see no coherent public sense of what she's done or been trying to do as vice president.
Many were thankful for Psaki's support of the Vice President.
Thank you\u2026 we all need to support our brilliant VP & shut down these ridiculous hit pieces.— Tricia S.\ud83d\udc9b (@Tricia S.\ud83d\udc9b) 1636943695
Thank you! Thank you! I need to see this administration stand up for the VP in a very real way. No holding back anymore.— Thee Kriss (@Thee Kriss) 1636943557
thank you for saying so. we're very proud of her and she is being sidelined by haters and a negligent press.— Leslie (Wondering) (@Leslie (Wondering)) 1636943016
love to hear it Jen...but i already believe in the both of them... and you are the best press secretary that has stood at that podium in decades and for that i say Thank you...— Jeff-Seahawk (@Jeff-Seahawk) 1636943001
100% agreed. @VP has been amazing. I LOVE seeing her in leadership roles. Thank you for representing the US so well in France this past week. @CNN you should talk to the rest of us. I support Biden and Harris. I cannot believe how much they have accomplished in just 10 months!!!— DivaFromDallas Fx \ud83c\udd98 Vote Early VAXXED (@DivaFromDallas Fx \ud83c\udd98 Vote Early VAXXED) 1636944454
Others called out CNN for sexism, misogyny and racism for holding Harris to a higher standard of action than her White, male predecessors.
What were Al Gore, Dick Cheney, Joe Biden or Mike Pence doing day to day during the first 10 months of their first/only term?
The tweets from people in the admin are a good start to actually admitting what\u2019s happening with Kamala Harris in the media. If the admin has time to comment on a CNN article then they have time to admit Kamala is facing unique challenges rooted in racism, sexism & misogyny.https://twitter.com/presssec/status/1460070063025831936\u00a0\u2026— Amene (@Amene) 1636943799
Kamala Harris is not a sound bite for your @CNN misogyny she is the Vice President of the United States, and a damn good one too. #portraitpaintingpic.twitter.com/RaChADY8ya— Lois Keller (@Lois Keller) 1636956986
Dear @cnn~\nMisogyny and racism is so not a good look. Stop these pieces of sh*t articles and report ACTUAL news.\nThanks,\nMillions of Americans who think Kamala Harris is doing a fine jobhttps://www.cnn.com/2021/11/16/opinions/kamala-harris-infrastructure-mitchell/index.html\u00a0\u2026— \ud83e\udd30 (@\ud83e\udd30) 1637080363
Anyone defending the CNN article aimed at VP Harris can fuck off. Most won't read it. They'll just look at the title and conclude she's a mess and make up their mind that Kamala is a bad VP. It's a substance free hit piece driven by misogyny and racism. Period.— (((THEE R.A. Roth, CRT Defender & Advocate))) (@(((THEE R.A. Roth, CRT Defender & Advocate)))) 1637010102
What \u201creports\u201d? Hit pieces by CNN, Politico, LA Times, etc. fueled by racism, misogyny, and jealousy all desperate to try and stop VP Kamala Harris from being elected president one day? Despicable.— Joel Rodrigues (@Joel Rodrigues) 1637050752
This is a combination of racism and misogyny. They've been trying to tear down VP Harris from day 1 and CNN can go f*ck themselves. A successful visit to France, and CNN is talking BS.— Sydney Chandler (@Sydney Chandler) 1636950137
The outrageous misogyny being brought to light re these stories about VP Harris are disappointing. This is exactly what got us Trump. Here we are in 2021 and @CNN is actively thumbing their noses at our VP while propping up Chris Christie. We see you CNN— AntifaKate (@AntifaKate) 1636936250
I have a notion that the current criticism of Kamala Harris is rooted in racism and misogyny... Do too much, and she\u2019s labeled an overbearing black woman. Too little, and she\u2019s labeled lazy. She can\u2019t win, and it\u2019s because rac[ism] and sex[ism] are stacked against her. @CNN— Openly Black \ud83d\udc99 (@Openly Black \ud83d\udc99) 1637076822
Harris' work hasn't been heavily featured in the press, but that lack of coverage doesn't mean she has been doing nothing.
She recently returned from a trip to France during which she met with French President Emmanuel Macron and attended a conference about promoting democratic elections in Libya.
She also committed the USA to joining a non-binding international declaration to protect its civilians from cyber attacks while there.
Of her time in France, Harris said:
"I think there is no question that I'm here as a representative for my country, and my presence here is reflective of the priorities that the United States has as it relates to France."
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