Psaki is the mouthpiece for the Biden Administration, so lying is to be expected. She is also a professional dodger, Psaki is constantly brushing off hard questions, and thereby leaving the public uninformed. But it turns out there is something that the Press Secretary just can’t stand and that is the word, “nice.” She hates being called nice and claims it’s somehow sexist. During an interview she did with Vogue, she explained her odd peeve.
An excerpt from the interview:
“At one point, she tells me that she hates when people describe her as “nice.” “It is like nails on a chalkboard,” she says. “And it still happens. I was introduced to a foreign delegation in the hallway the other day as ‘This is Jen. You may have seen her do the briefings. She’s a really nice person.’ I’m like, Really? You can’t think of a better description?” The word is sexist and a little diminishing, but, she says, “it’s also this desire to put people in a box. Yes, sometimes I’m friendly and joyful, and sometimes I’m tough, and sometimes I’m straightforward.”
After shadowing Psaki for a bit, I start to think that her real gift is her ability to be several of these things at the same time. Many of her cheerful quips are actually ways of shutting down a line of questioning. When there’s information the administration is not ready to share yet, she’ll respond with a chipper “Stay tuned!” or “Buckle up!” Or she’ll brush aside questions about tense dealmaking by chirping, “Democracy in action!”
She is a bit nutty. There is nothing sexist about the word nice. She clearly just has issues. Nice is a positive descriptor and there is nothing wrong with the word. Lucky for her. she is not likely called it often.