White House press secretary Jen Psaki had an awkward exchange with a reporter Wednesday after asking if President Biden “recognizes his own role” in what the president described as “systemic racism” in America.
Speaking to the nation Tuesday night following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Biden said the death of George Floyd, whom he called “ murder in broad daylight, ” ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see. systemic racism in the United States. ”
During Wednesday’s briefing, New York Post reporter Steve Nelson confronted Psaki about whether the president contributed to “systemic racism” during his decades-long tenure in the Senate.
“[Biden is] an architect of multiple federal laws in the 1980s and 1990s that disproportionately imprisoned black people and contributed to what many consider to be systemic racism, “Nelson said.” Activist Cornel West said that Biden was one of the foremost architects of mass detention and that, “I think Biden will have to take his responsibility and recognize the contribution he has made to the mass detention.” To what extent does President Biden recognize his own role in systemic racism? And how does that inform his current policy positions? “
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“Well,” Psaki replied, “I would say that one of the president’s core goals is to tackle racial injustice in this country, not only through his rhetoric, but also through his actions, and which everyone should look to. [is] his advocacy of passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, appointing leaders to the Department of Justice, addressing long-outdated policies, and asking his leadership team here in the White House to prioritize these issues during his current and current presidency. today and not from 30 years ago. “
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Nelson went on to ask Psaki if Biden thinks it is “important to accept his own guilt” for perpetuating systemic racism.
“I think I’ve answered your question,” Psaki dismissed Nelson before moving on to the next reporter.