Jen Psaki: Biden Camp Has to Move from ‘Accomplishments’ and Make It All About Trump

BARNICLE: “Jen, you’ve been asked — you’ve been asked this question a million times. So this is a million plus one.”
PSAKI: “Go ahead. Go ahead.”
BARNICLE: “And it’s off of what Symone —“
PSAKI: “Yeah.”
BARNICLE: “— just said. Why is it that the Biden Administration and the president himself is now according to some people competing with Donald Trump —“
PSAKI: “Mm-hmm.”
BARNICLE: “— for the black vote in the black communities in this country? How can that be the case when he is a lifelong record —“
PSAKI: “Yeah.”
BARNICLE: “— and — of — of positive movements for the black community and his administration, certainly last four years has the same.”
PSAKI: “It’s also how he became the nominee in —“
BARNICLE: “Yes.”
PSAKI: “— in 2020. Look, this bends the mind. I’m just going to acknowledge that to start off with. I think there’s a couple of — I mean, if you talk to the campaign, and pollsters and others, they’ll tell you a couple of things. One is there is still this challenge the Biden campaign is facing that people it hasn’t settled into everyone, that like Donald Trump is the actual other choice. And that’s the alternative and what that would mean for them, that there’s still a fair number of people who aren’t paying attention. That’s part of what they will argue. That’s why they’re eager to get onto the debate stage and actually move past this period with the trial. The other factor is what I’ve just touched on earlier. And you can see this in some of the coverage, which is interesting is things like what Symone was talking about, housing costs, higher interest rates, who do they impact? They impact people who are lower income, who are living paycheck-t- paycheck, they impact some of the demographic groups, young people, communities of color, that the President is struggling with.”
BRZEZINSKI: “Yeah.”
PSAKI: “That is an area where he has a good story to tell. And I agree with Symone, this is actually quite similar. And I was on President Obama’s campaign back in 2012, of course, the argument he was making was not ‘I have solved every economic problem for you.’ It was, ‘I am the better fighter for you than the other guy.’ That has to be the president’s argument. The last thing I will say that I think is a factor is they’ve started to draw the contrast. Obviously, the president is showing up in places. They have to move on from — from accomplishments and getting credit for accomplishments and make it all about the contrast of what a Biden and Trump presidency would be. You can see them moving into that —“
BARNICLE: “Yeah.”
PSAKI: “— stage. But I think there’s a couple of factors —“
BRZEZINSKI: “Mm-hmm.”
PSAKI: “— at play here and it’s really about bringing people home to who they pulled the lever for before.”
BRZEZINSKI: “Bring them home.”