Jen Psaki Discusses Challenges for Democrats in Media Landscape

MS NOW host Jen Psaki expressed concern on Wednesday about the Democratic Party’s struggle to gain traction in the current media landscape. She reflected on whether she and other journalists bear some responsibility, as former President Donald Trump frequently dominates news coverage, including her own show.

Psaki’s guest, former ABC News journalist Terry Moran, noted that Democrats were not leading as expected ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, despite Trump’s low approval ratings. Psaki acknowledged that Democrats have high enthusiasm but face challenges in portraying themselves as more than merely opposing Trump.

The transition from being solely anti-Trump to offering concrete alternatives has been slow for many leading Democratic voices, Psaki explained. “It has taken some time for a lot of the leading Democratic voices to move from just anti-Trump to more than anti-Trump, right? To, ‘We’re not for Trump, but here’s what we’re offering,’” she said.

Psaki believes the difficulty arises from Trump’s constant presence in headlines, making it hard for Democrats to highlight their policy plans. She admitted that journalists might share some blame, noting her own platform and the challenge of booking guests outside the Trump-centric news cycle.

“I would also say, to take a little bit of the blame off of leading Democrats, it’s very hard to break through with that stuff,” Psaki added. “And I realize I have a platform, you have a platform — maybe we’re all at fault for this — but because the things Trump is doing every day are so crazy, it is hard for Democrats to break through with, ‘Here’s my plan for covering children under the age of six with additional health care benefits. Here’s my plan for giving more assistance to pre-K.’

She emphasized the need for the public to know more about Democratic proposals to improve lives, admitting that the focus often remains on Trump’s actions instead.

Moran agreed, highlighting the challenge journalists face in choosing between covering Trump’s actions and reporting on other important issues. “And, you know, he is chaos and dominates every second of every day as much as he can,” he said. “And so that does leave any journalist, any program, any independent journalist, broadcast journalist, with the same problem: Do you cover the Trump show, or do you cover the Trump administration and what people should know about it?”

In a previous conversation in April, Psaki questioned the left’s focus on the 25th Amendment against Trump and deemed certain public discussions non-constructive. “I mean, you’ve talked about the 25th Amendment,” she continued, “I have no issue with people saying they’re for invoking the 25th Amendment, but it’s not going to happen. So, it’s like why are we spending so much time, you know?”