Jen Psaki has harsh words for her old boss Biden: 'The clock is ticking'

President Joe Biden has had a few encouraging words from his supporters in the wake of his disastrous debate performance, but his former spokesman was not among them.

MSNBC host Jen Psaki could only offer a grim outlook on her former boss's re-election chances during her show's opening monologue.

“It has now been 10 days since the first presidential debate. It has felt like 10 years in the political world, maybe for all of you watching. Speculation about Joe Biden's future has been rife, and the panic within the Democratic Party has not gone away,” Psaki began.

“The questions I know I get from text messages from friends and family are two-fold: What's going to happen and what's the best way forward?” the former White House spokesman said Sunday on “Inside with Jen Psaki.” “And I'm not going to sit here this afternoon and tell you I know the answer to any of the questions.”

(Video credit: MSNBC)

Psaki noted that “longtime loyalists” may not be sure to support Biden amid calls from leading Democrats for him to retire.

“It's important to note that since the debate, five sitting members of Congress have publicly called on the president to step down, which is no small feat,” he said.

“Just yesterday, a current senior White House official who The New York Times prominently described as having “worked with Biden during his presidency, vice presidency and 2020 campaign” said he should not seek re-election Psaki said. “Now, this person was not named and we do not know who he is. But I can tell you that there aren't too many people who fit that description. It's basically an indication that even the long-time faithful may have serious doubts about their way forward.”

Biden's interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos didn't seem to erase recent images of the 81-year-old's gaffes, missteps and general mental decline, with Psaki saying the friendly interview was “of deal” for the president.

“I would say it went well for the president,” Psaki said.

“He seemed a little negative about the state of the race and maybe the confidence was a strategy for that, the confidence of the project about the way forward. But it's not ideal for people watching and looking for a signal to recognize the difficulty of the road ahead,” he continued. “He left us all in this kind of purgatory for the time being. It was better than a debate, not a home run at all.”

“So what's next? Like I said, tomorrow is potentially going to be a very interesting day here in Washington when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill,” Psaki concluded.

“Biden is pushing forward and trying to erase the bars and silence the concerns that he may not be able to silence, the clock is ticking,” he said. “That's just a fact.”

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida, where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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