Biden’s former press secretary Jen Psaki makes stunning false claims about the president at ceremony for the 13 soldiers killed in the failed withdrawal from Afghanistan
Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki falsely claimed that President Joe Biden did not check his watch during the ceremony in Dover for the 13 soldiers killed during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Psaki wrote in her new book Say more lessons from work, the White House, and the world that “the President did not look at his watch until after the ceremony had concluded. Moments later, he and the First Lady walked towards their car.”
She wrote in her book that claims to the contrary were “misinformation.”
US President Joe Biden looks down with First Lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover
Jen Psaki speaks during a conversation with Kara Swisher about her book ‘Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World’
That was incorrect, according to several fact checkers noted At the time, he pointed out that Biden was caught on news cameras looking at his watch at least twice during the ceremony.
Military families expressed outrage over Biden’s apparent disrespect. Some family members who attended the ceremony claimed Biden looked at his watch as many as 10 times.
Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover and Mark Schmitz, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz expressed outrage at Biden during a meeting interview with Fox News.
“They let go of the salute and he looked down at his watch with every last salute,” Hoover said. “All thirteen, he looked at his watch.”
Psaki initially did not respond to controversy, but said so on Monday Axios that she would update future printings of her book to correct her incorrect claim of misinformation.
‘Say more. Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World’ by Jen Psaki released on May 7, 2024 by Simon and Schuster
Jen Psaki speaks on stage at an event with Lawrence O’Donnell
She wrote that “the details in a few lines of the book about the exact number of times he looked at his watch will be removed in future reprints and from the e-book.”
When she was Biden’s press secretary, Psaki was asked by Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich in August 2021 about the president checking his watch during the Dover ceremony.
At the time, Psaki dodged answering the question, instead pointing to the president’s loss of his own son.
“That he knows firsthand what it’s like to lose a child and that no one can tell you anything, or say anything, that there are no words that can fill the hole that it leaves.”