White House press secretary Jen Psaki appeared to mock a question about the future of the United States Space Force during Tuesday’s press briefing.
Psaki first told Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove that she was not certain whether President Joe Biden’s administration planned to keep or scrap the newly commissioned Space Force — and then revealed that she was unsure who the point of contact would be if she were going to ask. (RELATED: Jen Psaki Shrugs Off CBS Reporter For Refusing To Name Anonymous Democrats)
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“May I ask whether the president has made a decision on keeping or keeping the scope of the Space Force?” Wingrove asked.
“Wow, Space Force,” Psaki replied, giving a thumbs up. “It’s the plane of today.”
I asked @PressSec if President Biden planned to keep the Space Force, or its scope, and she declined to say.
(She poked fun at the question about an entire branch of the military as the “plane of today,” referring to when she’d been asked about the Air Force One paint job.)
— Josh Wingrove (@josh_wingrove) February 2, 2021
Wingrove pointed out the fact that the Space Force was actually an entire branch of the United States military, at which point Psaki said that she would find out the answer to his question.
“It is an interesting question. I’m 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,” she said.
Several others criticized Psaki’s tone, saying that she was brushing off a legitimate question and mocking a branch of the military.
The Space Force is an actual branch of the military so questions about its status/future are totally legitimate. Team @josh_wingrove
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) February 2, 2021
The @SpaceForceDoD is a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, not the butt of a joke. @PressSec, your “joke” is inappropriate, and you should circle back immediately with the more than 16,000 members of the #SpaceForce with an apology from the White House lectern. https://t.co/cBTTlVYN3k
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) February 2, 2021
Last year, Joe Biden capitalized on the mainstream media’s despicably false narrative about President Trump “mockery” of the U.S. military.
Today, Biden’s spokeswoman appeared to mock a branch of our military in front of the entire world. This should not be tolerated by anyone. https://t.co/4IA0tcpAPf
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) February 2, 2021
Neither the Biden White House nor Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have specified their plans for the Space Force going forward. Prior to his confirmation, however, Austin said in a statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, “If confirmed, I will ensure the space domain is carefully considered across the range of upcoming strategic reviews.”