White House press secretary Jen Psaki reportedly plans to hang up her briefing binder this year and is seriously entertaining the idea of taking her career to a mainstream news network for a hosting role.
For much of February, representatives from CNN and MSNBC have been trying to recruit Psaki for a prime-time slot as on-air talent, sources familiar with her deliberations told Puck News. CNN interim co-president Amy Entelis and CNN+ programming lead Rebecca Kutler as well as NBC News chairman Cesar Conde and MSNBC president Rashida Jones have all engaged Psaki about the opportunity, evidently seeing star potential based on her performance at the press room lectern. ABC News and CBS News also reportedly discussed bringing Psaki onto their teams, sources told the outlet.
MSNBC specifically is rushing to find a suitable and equally popular replacement for host Rachel Maddow, who has raked in massive rating success for the network but will be stepping down in the spring. The company, it seems, may be eyeing Psaki as a candidate, Puck noted.
As the presidential office develops an increasingly celebrity-like culture, the White House press secretary position, which tests one’s ability to fire off quick responses and retorts to reporters’ questions across a range of political subjects, has been viewed as a springboard to talking-head gigs with even more visibility. For instance, former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, the third to serve under the Trump administration, is now a co-host of the Outnumbered on Fox News Channel as well as a regular contributor on other programs.
While Psaki is generally disliked in conservative circles for her habitual practice of passing the buck on the Biden administration’s policy failures and dodging important calls for clarity with diversions such as “we’ll circle back,” she’s revered among many progressives for her calm demeanor, which they say is a refreshing change from her Trump-era predecessors.
Psaki has been a part of some memorable and viral exchanges with certain reporters, namely Fox News’ Peter Doocy, who has put the press secretary in the hot seat since President Biden assumed office on issues like the border crisis, inflation, the pandemic, and now the Russia-Ukraine turmoil.
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