Jen Psaki defends prep team after family reportedly blames staff for debate performance: 'Biden was bad'

Former White House press secretary turn MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Monday defended President Biden’s presidential debate prep team, saying that the commander-in-chief’s performance was just "bad."

Psaki's comments came after several reports that President Biden's family is blaming his staff for his shaky debate performance.

"There are a lot of important discussions and debates about this political moment we are in and the path forward, but the notion that the issue at the debate was the prep process done by people like @RonaldKlain and Anita Dunn who have successfully prepped many candidates including Obama, Clinton and Biden is absurd," Psaki wrote on X.

She went on to say, "It was a bad debate. I have no doubt they were tough, strategic and direct. (Believe me I have seen them in action) but prep does not always determine the outcome. Biden was bad. Important convos about what happens next. But if you are directing your ire at ‘prep’ you are not talking about the right things."

Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday defended President Biden’s presidential debate prep team, highlighting that the commander-in-chief’s performance was just "bad." (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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Klain replied on X thanking Psaki for defending him.

On Sunday, Biden's wife, children and grandchildren used a gathering at Camp David to urge him to stay in the race and keep fighting despite his debate performance, and some family members criticized how his staff prepared him for the faceoff, The Associated Press reported, citing four people familiar with the discussions.

According to Politico, the family's criticism was hurled specifically toward Anita Dunn, the senior adviser who frequently has the president’s ear; her husband, Bob Bauer, the president’s attorney who played former President Trump in rehearsals at Camp David; and Ron Klain, the former chief of staff who ran point on the debate prep and previous cycles’ sessions, Politico reported, citing three people briefed on the family conversations but not directly involved.

Politico reported further that his family complained that Biden was not "prepared to pivot more to go on the attack; that he was bogged down too much on defending his record rather than outlining a vision for a second term; and that he was over-worked and not well-rested."

First Lady Jill Biden holding President Biden's hand as she walks off stage in January of 2024.  (Fox News/POOL)

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The Bidens were also asking why Klain allowed the president to become overburdened by statistics and claimed Biden went to the Atlanta debate with a summer tan, but had makeup on during the debate that made him look pale, the New York Times reported, citing people close to the situation. 

Other Biden supporters have also pointed the finger at his prep team.

John Morgan, a top Democratic donor close to President Biden’s brother, Frank, publicly blamed the advisers by name for the debate performance. 

"Biden has for too long been fooled by the value of Anita Dunn and her husband," Morgan wrote on X Sunday. "They need to go… TODAY. The grifting is gross. It was political malpractice."

"It would be like if you took a prizefighter who was going to have a title fight and put him in a sauna for 15 hours then said, ‘Go fight,’" Morgan told The Times. "I believe that the debate is solely on Ron Klain, Bob Bauer and Anita Dunn."

Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz defended the advisers in a statement to Politico, that was also sent to Fox News Digital, saying, "The aides who prepped the President have been with him for years, often decades, seeing him through victories and challenges. He maintains strong confidence in them."

A senior Biden aide also told Fox News Digital that the claims of frustration are "not true."

President Biden and former President Trump.  ((AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson and Evan Vucci))

Psaki's comments came after Biden's debate performance was widely criticized by top Democrats and other commentators in the media and some have called for him to withdraw from the race.

 Comedian Bill Maher called for Biden to step aside for another candidate to take on Trump.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Joshua Q. Nelson is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Joshua focuses on politics, education policy ranging from the local to the federal level, and the parental uprising in education.

Joining Fox News Digital in 2019, he previously graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Political Science and is an alum of the National Journalism Center and the Heritage Foundation's Young Leaders Program. 

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