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Why is White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki being praised? Internet calls first briefing 'honest, respectful'

At the very start of her briefing, Psaki vowed to 'bring truth and transparency' back to the White House briefing room

Jen Psaki, the newly instated White House Press Secretary, delivered the first press briefing of the Joe Biden administration on Wednesday after the 46th President of the United States was sworn into power. 
 
At the very start of her briefing, Psaki vowed to “bring truth and transparency” back to the White House briefing room, a statement that clearly hinted at the lack of these aspects in the Donald Trump era. Psaki’s remark earned her accolades worldwide and her first press briefing was deemed to be a huge success. 

Who is Jen Psaki?

This, however, is not the first time Psaki is working with Biden. She had served as a White House Communications Director and spokesperson at the State Department when former president Barack Obama was in office, and Biden was the vice-president. Before becoming the White House Communications Director, she also served initially as White House’s deputy press secretary.

It deserves a special mention in this context that the new press team at the White House is an all-women senior communications team with Psaki as the White House Press Secretary and Kate Bedingfield as the White House Communications Director. Bedingfield had worked with Biden as his campaign communications director before, as well as his communications director when he was the vice president. 

“Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a president, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House,” Biden said in a statement about the new press team. It is believed by many that the efficient team will work towards restoring honesty and truthfulness in communicating about the government’s policies and updates. 

Highlights from Psaki's first press briefing

Here are some of the key highlights from Psaki’s first press briefing that was hugely appreciated by all Americans for her diplomatic stance and promise to reinstitute transparency and decorum in the press room.

Psaki resolved to make press briefings a daily affair to keep people up-to-date about the government’s work. She promised to include health officials in upcoming briefings to communicate effectively about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic situation. When asked if Biden was in favor of a Senate trial for his predecessor Donald Trump, Psaki refrained from answering but added that the Senate should be able to continue to fulfill Biden’s policy goals. 

Psaki also chose not to answer when asked if Biden had confidence in present FBI Director Christopher Wray, a prominent Republican member. 

Reactions from Twitter

Twitter users showered Psaki with praise for her new role. Here are some of the best tweets we spotted. "Jen Psaki is blowing me away," said Donald Trump's niece Mary L Trump, a known critic of the Trump government. 

"Jen Psaki is the perfect person for this role at this moment. Deeply experienced, instinctively kind, and able to make government accessible and understandable," tweeted Ben Rhodes. 

This user said, "That press briefing by Jen Psaki was just so... normal. And decent. And honest. And respectful." One user said, "She’s so open, and enthusiastic while calmly answering every press question asked WITHOUT deflections and or lies! What a difference honesty can make!" Another said, "It's so refreshing to hear a 'normal' White House briefing without hearing any alternative facts, conspiracy theories and outright lies from a former combative and angry WH Press Secretary."