“I don't think closing the campaign with a message about fighting democracy with a former Republican member of Congress was the right strategy," Psaki said
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Former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki slammed former Vice President Kamala Harris for closing her presidential campaign by campaigning with Liz Cheney and relying on "elite language," that failed to connect with voters.
"I don't think closing the campaign with a message about fighting democracy with a former Republican member of Congress was the right strategy," Psaki told Jon Stewart on his "The Weekly Show" podcast on Friday.
Psaki lauded Cheney, who headed the House’s Jan. 6 committee and endorsed Harris for president, as "heroic" and conceded that she’s not the reason the Democrats lost the 2024 election but still faulted Democrats for failing to articulate a message that spoke to the majority of everyday Americans.
MSNBC host Jen Psaki offered her opinions on why Democrats lost in the 2024 election. (The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart YouTube channel)
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"I think we were speaking in a manner that was so academic an Ivory Tower, it wasn't talking about a lot of the things people actually care about… I think they voted in some ways against protection of status quo and the disconnected academic Ivory Tower elite language that is too often used by Democrats," she said. "One of my takeaways after the election was cross-authoritarianism and oligarchy out of every script. Nobody talks this way."
Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was once supportive of President Donald Trump, but their relationship soured following the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Cheney became one of only ten Republicans to vote to impeach Trump after the riot, and went on to lose her Wyoming House seat after Trump endorsed her primary challenger, Rep. Harriet Hagerman.
The comments were made on Jon Stewart's "The Weekly Show" podcast. (Comedy Central)
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Cheney headed the House Jan. 6 committee, and was later accused by House Republicans of engaging in witness tampering. GOP Congressional leaders called on the FBI to investigate Cheney for allegedly communicating with committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson without her attorney’s knowledge. In the waning days of the 2024 election, Trump took aim at Cheney, blasting her as a "radical war hawk."
Biden granted Cheney a pre-emptive pardon on his way out the door, along with Anthony Fauci and several other Trump antagonists.
Liz Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
During the podcast, Stewart lamented that the Democrats have become the "party of the government, the party of the status quo," which he claimed missed the reality that most Americans are facing.
"And institutions," Psaki agreed.
David Spector is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
