White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki took a shot at what she described as “conservative Twitter” during her daily briefing Monday.
In the short time she’s served as President Joe Biden’s chief spokesperson, she’s frequently relied on the two-word phrase “circle back,” terminology Psaki seems to rely on when she either doesn’t have a response to questions from reporters or would prefer not to answer them.
“And last thing I want to do before I get to your questions, I often note I am going to circle back,” she said. “I hate to disappoint conservative Twitter, but I am going to circle back on a number of things, as we often do directly.”
The phrase has gained a lot of social media attention since Psaki assumed the role of White House press secretary.
In late January, Grabien’s Tom Elliott put together a montage of a handful of the many times Psaki has said she is “happy to circle back” with reporters.
One of the questions Psaki “circled back” to Monday was in regard to a reporter’s question about a FEMA request for active duty troops “to be used at vaccination centers when they get stood up across the country.” The journalist wanted to know if Biden supported the request.
At the time, Psaki wasn’t clear in her answer. Instead, she rifled through her notebook, ultimately unable to find a statement on the subject.
That clip prompted Scott Adams, a conservative critic of the Biden administration as well as the creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip, to compare Psaki’s apparent preparedness to that of Kayleigh McEnany, who served as former President Donald Trump’s press secretary.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) also dinged Psaki’s preparedness for her daily press briefings in a tweet posted Monday. McEnany, the lawmaker asserted, “was much better prepared” for her job.
As for the FEMA request for troops from the Pentagon, Psaki said the Biden administration supports a “whole of government” approach to vaccine distribution, adding the White House “will have more on this as the days continue this week.”