When Jen Psaki Supported Harris as Biden's Successor but Feared America Was 'Racist and Sexist'

MSNBC's host Jen Psaki backed Kamala Harris for president long before President Joe Biden quit his re-election bid. When POTUS was still in the race, his critics demanded he withdraw, citing he wasn't fit to run. Several names emerged for his alternative, but Psaki insisted Harris was the most qualified. However, she feared "racist" and "sexist" America wouldn't let her win. 

In an interview with the Pod Save America podcast, Psaki spoke candidly about Biden stepping down and who could be best suited as his replacement. She told the host Jon Lovett, "There's a lot of really amazing Democrats on the bench, but because of the timeline and everything, I think it is clearly Kamala Harris," as per the New York Post. Furthermore, she gave a reason why VP Harris' political contribution hasn't yet been acknowledged, "It's almost like public opinion hasn't caught up with what she is doing out there, and also we live in a country that is sexist, and racist, so, like, there is that." 

At the time, pressure loomed over Biden from within his own party to step aside from the 2024 presidential race against the Republican rival Donald Trump. The demands intensified after the 81-year-old failed to perform well in the debate, leading to the Democrats losing confidence in his physical and mental abilities to run the United States in his second term. 

Psaki was among those who openly criticized Biden's poor performance at the debate on X, formerly Twitter, "It was a bad debate. I have no doubt they were tough, strategic, and direct. (Believe me, I have seen them in action) but prep does not always determine the outcome. Biden was bad. Important convos about what happens next." 

After Biden's poor performance, many critics, including the Biden family held responsible POTUS' top advisors for his disastrous performance against Trump. According to Politico, It was even speculated that Ron Klain, Biden's campaign advisor Anita Dunn, and her husband, and lawyer Bob Bauer could be ousted from their respective roles after the 'bad episode' on June 27, 2024. 

However, Psaki insisted otherwise. She urged Biden's debate debacle wasn't because his aides over-prepped him before the final showdown, citing, "the notion that the issue at the debate was the prep process done by people like @RonaldKlain and Anita Dunn who has successfully prepped many candidates including Obama, Clinton, and Biden is absurd." 

Psaki, former press secretary left the White House in 2022 to host her show show on MSNBC. In her interview with Lovett, she reiterated, "I don't know why there hasn't been kind of an overwhelming 'Kamala would be a great president and she would be a fierce, amazing campaigner,' right?" Meanwhile, she also clarified that "not everybody" is racist, or sexist, "but there is a level of it that does impact elections." 

Eventually, after much thought, Biden decided to step aside from the race and passed the torch to Harris on July 21, 2024. Following his announcement, Psaki shared an opinion piece on MSNBC, praising POTUS' "incredible strength by getting back up after being knocked down." 

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