Jen Psaki looks back on her time as Biden press secretary and says she’ll MISS Fox’s Peter Doocy, did ‘more press briefings than every single Trump press secretary combined’ and received threats with her KIDS names on them
- Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki reflected on her time on the job ahead of her final briefing; Psaki leaves high-profile job on Friday
- She revealed she's received death threats and has had her kids threatened
- 'The thing that has been hardest personally is I have had threats. I have had nasty letters, texts to me with my personal address, the names of my children'
- 'It crosses lines,' Psaki said at breakfast sponsored by Christian Science Monitor
- She also said she will miss Fox News' Peter Doocy
- Psaki bragged she has done more briefings than all other Trump press secretaries combined
- After Friday's final briefing, Psaki will have done 225 press briefings
- The four people who held the press secretary job under President Donald Trump did a combined 205 briefings
Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday she'll miss Fox News' Peter Doocy, bragged she did more briefings than all Trump press secretaries combined and said the hardest part of the job were the personal threats, some of which had her kids name on them.
Psaki will hold her last press briefing of President Joe Biden's administration on Friday. She reflected on her 15 months on the job during a breakfast with reporters that was sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
She revealed she's received death threats, has had people threaten to come to her house, and that her kids have been threatened by name.
'The thing that has been hardest personally is I have had threats. I have had nasty letters, texts to me with my personal address, the names of my children. It crosses lines, you know, and that's when it becomes a little scary,' she said.
Psaki, 43, has two children, aged six and four. Her husband, Greg Mecher, has served as a Democratic staffer on Capitol hill.
'I'm, in many ways, a public figure. People can like me dislike me, that's okay. You know, it's, I believe in I'm very much in freedom of speech. My kids are 6 and 4 And I worry about their safety. And that is a real concern to me and has been so and that can be of concern to public officials,' she said.
She said some of the threats were reported to the Secret Service.
'There is a circulation of my address among the Arlington Republican Party,' she said.
Outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki reflected on her time on the job ahead of her final briefing; Psaki leaves high-profile job on Friday
Jen Psaki said the hardest part of her job is that she and her children have received threats - Psaki, her husband and kids are seen at the annual Turkey Pardoning at the White House this past November
Psaki is not the first press secretary to be threatened.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump's first spokesperson, received Secret Service protection during her tenure due to threats and after being confronted in restaurants by critics of the Trump administration.
In her reflection on her job, Psaki said coming in after the turbulent Trump years, she was focused on reestablishing and rebuilding 'trust with the public and trust in institutions and trust with the media.'
'I've done more press briefings than every single Trump press secretary combined,' Psaki noted.
The Trump administration did not hold many press briefings. Stephanie Grisham, during her tenure, did not hold a single one. Donald Trump tended use Twitter and campaign rallies to communicate with the public.
Biden's administration sought to reset relations with the press. Psaki held her first briefing on Biden's first day in office. She has has answered reporters' questions nearly every weekday of the almost 500 days that Biden has been in office.
After Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, she is the most known face of the Biden administration.
She is set to leave the high-profile job on Friday and will be replaced by her principal deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre, who is poised to become the first black person and openly gay person to serve as White House press secretary.
After Friday's final briefing, Psaki will have done 225 press briefings. The four people who held the job under President Donald Trump did a combined 205 briefings, according to data from Martha Joynt Kumar of the White House Transition Project, which tracks this kind of data.
Psaki said she will miss Fox News' Peter Doocy (center); the two clashed many times during her press briefings
White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks to member of the media aboard Air Force One last Friday - she will hold her last press briefing this Friday
After Friday's final briefing, Psaki will have done 225 press briefings. The four people who held the job under President Donald Trump did a combined 205 briefings
Share this article
Psaki received rock star status among some members of the Democratic Party during her briefings, particularly when she delivered what were called 'Psaki bombs,' her deft comebacks to tough questioning, usually from Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy.
'I will miss him,' Psaki said of Doocy.
'I think we have a very good professional relationship,' she said.
Psaki had to defend herself last month after she was asked on a podcast Doocy was a 'stupid son of a b***h' or just played one on TV.
'He works for a network that provides people with questions that, nothing personal to any individual including Peter Doocy, but might make anyone sound like a stupid son of a b***h,' she had said.
But Psaki said Monday the Biden administration was not 'focused here on a fight with Fox.'
'We have healthy debates and discussions. Doesn't mean I agree with his line of questioning on most days,' she said of Doocy.
Psaki is a longtime Democratic operative.
'I have worked more in the White House than anywhere else in my career,' she noted on Thursday.
She served as communications director during President Barack Obama's administration. And she served as John Kerry's spokesperson at the State Department when he was secretary of state.
Between the Obama and Biden administrations she was a political commentator on CNN.
She has not said what she will do next but it's been reported she will sign a contract with MSNBC.
Most watched News videos
- Prince George beams as he watches Aston Villa with dad William
- 'I thought I was going to die': Woman breaks down after Sydney stabbing
- CCTV captures moment thieving couple steal manager's phone from bar
- New footage emerges of Noa Argamani's abduction by Hamas terrorists
- Boris: 'If Ukraine falls, it'll be catastrophic for the West'
- Knife-wielding man is seen chasing civilians inside Bondi Westfield
- Benjamin Netanyahu warns 'whoever hurts us, we hurt them'
- Footage shows drone flying through the sky over Iran
- 'I thought I was going to die': Woman breaks down after Sydney stabbing
- Five year old girl is knocked from her scooter by hit and run driver
- Police blocks shopping centre in Sydney as knifeman goes on rampage
- Witness claims OJ Simpson hired mobsters to kill Nicole Brown
