White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s dismissive comments about the Space Force earlier this week highlighted how thirsty conservatives are for outrage fuel. But it also illustrated a challenge the Biden administration faces as it tries to reckon with former President Donald Trump’s legacy.
Psaki was asked Tuesday by Bloomberg White House reporter Josh Wingrove if Biden has made a decision about “keeping, or keeping the scope of, Space Force.” Psaki responded as though she’d been asked about the happy hour specials at the Trump International Hotel.
“Wow, Space Force. It’s the plane of today,” Psaki sarcastically said, referring to silly questions she fielded during her first press briefings about Biden’s thoughts on the color scheme of Air Force One. “I am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I’m not sure who that is. I will find out and see if we have any update on that.”
Trump administration press briefings were more akin to professional wrestling matches than they were good-faith attempts to share information with the American public. So as tame as it is compared to Sarah Sanders using a manipulated video to demean Jim Acosta or Sean Spicer declaring war on sense perception itself, Psaki’s exchange with Wingrove is about as controversial as Biden-era briefings have gotten thus far.
Psaki disrespected a Trump branding project, not the troops
On one hand, Psaki’s dismissiveness is understandable. As Defense News recently explained, the Space Force “is fundamentally a rebranding of the Air Force’s legacy space organizations — specifically the now-defunct Air Force Space Command.” Trump pushed for its establishment mainly as a marketing and fundraising opportunity for his campaign. Even before the Space Force was officially inaugurated in late 2019, the Trump campaign sold Space Force
