Early indications suggest a potential Joe Biden administration will be a re-do of the Obama administration, with a number of Obama-era retreads being tapped, should the Democratic nominee find his way to the White House.
One of those names, Jen Psaki, who was named Biden’s White House press secretary, wasted no time drawing ridicule after a remark about Russian puppets that came in response to a photo surfaced of her wearing a hat bearing the communist hammer-and-sickle logo.
The photo featured her former boss, then-Secretary of State John Kerry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, along with Psaki.
The hat Psaki is wearing is a pink shapka gifted to her by Zakharova, who was her Russian counterpart at the time.
Here’s Jen Psaki hugging Russia’s Foreign Minister and Russia’s chief foreign affairs propagandist while wearing a pink hammer and sickle hat pic.twitter.com/WMJytaxd7J
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) November 30, 2020
The Russian government was only too happy to share a photo of the then-Obama State Department spokeswoman rocking the hat from its official Twitter account.
Russia responded w/ #Ushanka Hat gifted to @statedeptspox to stay warm&fancy during #US #winterstorm up to @Sochi2014 pic.twitter.com/yPmWTxydyE
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) January 13, 2014
It goes without saying the photo drew lots of criticism — the fact that it was relatively unknown, having been taken in 2014, is a real testament to how thoroughly biased the media is.
(Speaking of, the infamous USA Today factcheckers responded to the sharing of the photo by rating it as “missing context.”)
Psaki responded in a tweet to essentially dismiss the clatter as “Russian propaganda.”
“For anyone who hasn’t been the target of Russian propaganda (cc: @McFaul @HillaryClinton) the purpose is to discredit powerful messengers and to spread misinformation to confuse the public,” she tweeted. “Anyone who repeats it is (unwitting or not) simply a puppet of the propaganda machine.”
For anyone who hasn’t been the target of Russian propaganda (cc: @McFaul @HillaryClinton) the purpose is to discredit powerful messengers and to spread misinformation to confuse the public. Anyone who repeats it is (unwitting or not) simply a puppet of the propaganda machine.
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) December 1, 2020
Talk radio host Larry O’Connor was among those who clapped back at Psaki, offering a spot on summary of what she was actually saying.
“‘If you criticize me you’re Putin’s puppet’ is a hell of a great start for Biden’s spox,” he tweeted.
“If you criticize me you’re Putin’s puppet” is a hell of a great start for Biden’s spox. https://t.co/B934YrPxvC
— Larry O’Connor (@LarryOConnor) December 2, 2020
O’Connor was far from alone though, as responses rolled in. If there was a common theme among them, it would be that Psakie “wore the hat.”
Here’s a sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
They tricked you into putting that hat on?
Aren’t you guys the A-Team? Isn’t that what you’ve been telling us? https://t.co/jjUpBwBQYe
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) December 2, 2020
You literally wore Communist Russian gear. In Russia. https://t.co/N90q0okDBU
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) December 2, 2020
You wore a hammer & sickle hat as a representative of the US govt
Communists & totalitarians thank you for your puppetry https://t.co/vi2K8e2vvC
— Jim Hanson 🇺🇸 (@JimHansonDC) December 2, 2020
Psaki wore a hat with the hammer-and-sickle, which represents totalitarianism, that was gifted her by Russian officials. And she posed for a picture with them. That’s not misinformation. And she could have not put the hat on her head, or posed for the photo.
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) December 2, 2020
“Criticizing me or laughing at me is like treason.” https://t.co/uIojjgCfZm
— Michael Brendan Dougherty (@michaelbd) December 2, 2020
next time have max boot loan you his hat https://t.co/aL9jUFdzWh
— Jon Gabriel (@exjon) December 2, 2020
You wore a hat emblazoned with a hate symbol and smiled for pictures with Russian dignitaries while working for the administration that gave the Kremlin more flexibility.
The hammer & sickle represents horror for many of us with family that survived/died under Soviet communism. https://t.co/tm1D2OyE5h
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) December 2, 2020
I mean, you didn’t have to put the hat on https://t.co/Su8YnxBXCH
— Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) December 2, 2020
It’s a 2016 redux: anything we don’t like must be Russian propaganda. https://t.co/WrEn9wiNOP
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 2, 2020
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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.
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