“CBS This Morning” host Gayle King confronted White House press secretary Jen Psaki over what she deemed “very bad behavior” on President Joe Biden’s part.
King asked Psaki during a Tuesday interview how Biden planned to justify the widely-panned withdrawal from Afghanistan — noting that people objected to the manner in which it was carried out rather than simply the fact that the United States had chosen to leave — as well as the new trilateral defense agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom (AUKUS) that had driven France to recall its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia. (RELATED: ‘I Still Feel Judged’: Gayle King Asks Dr. Fauci Why More Experts Aren’t Clear About When The Masks Can Come Off)
WATCH:
.@PressSec suggests the Biden administration “is looking into” temporary status for Haitian migrants at the border, calling images from Del Rio, Texas “horrific.” pic.twitter.com/DN7Lah8W7G
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 21, 2021
King began by asking Psaki to preview what Biden planned to say when he addressed the United Nations, saying that on the world stage Biden already appeared to be “really under the gun on so many different levels.”
Psaki pushed back, saying that it was a president’s job to navigate from one crisis to the next and show leadership. She went on to say that Biden planned to move ahead with his plan to “look outward” and address major issues like climate change.
Saying that she understood the importance of looking “outward,” King argued that there may still be some issues left unresolved.
“We can’t ignore what has happened before. We’re still getting hammered for how the withdrawal from Afghanistan happened. Everybody knows, many people believe it was time. It’s just the way that it was done. So we all agree with that. That’s not a good look,” she said.
“You look at what’s happening with immigration. You look at France now saying that they’ve been betrayed by the United States. So I get that we have to look forward. But what are we doing to justify or explain what appears to be very bad behavior on our part?” King asked, turning back to Psaki.
“We don’t see it that way,” Psaki objected, arguing that the U.S. and France had a long history of friendship and saying that she did not believe a conflict over the AUKUS trilateral defense agreement — which ultimately cost France a multibillion-dollar diesel submarine deal with Australia — would put an end to that. (RELATED: France Recalls Ambassadors To US, Australia Over Submarine Deal)
She made no move to address King’s questions about the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border or the Afghanistan withdrawal.