Jen Psaki’s Podcast Comments on Usha Vance Trigger Backlash from Fox News and White House
WASHINGTON – Remarks made by MSNBC host and former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki concerning Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, have ignited a significant media controversy, drawing sharp condemnation from Fox News personalities and the White House.
The comments occurred during Psaki’s appearance on the liberal podcast I’ve Had It, hosted by Jennifer Welch and Angie “Pumps” Sullivan. While discussing Vice President Vance’s political trajectory, Psaki directed a comment toward his wife. “I always wonder what’s going on in the mind of his wife,” Psaki stated. “Like, are you OK? Please blink four times. Come over here – we’ll save you.”
This statement quickly circulated on social media, prompting immediate and forceful reactions from conservative figures. On the social media platform X, the account Libs of TikTok, run by Chaya Raichik, posted, “Unhinged Jen Psaki is now smearing JD Vance, suggesting that his wife, Usha, wants to leave her husband and offers to ‘save’ her. @MSNBC should be ashamed to pay her salary.”
The controversy escalated on Fox News programming. On Fox & Friends First, contributor Joe Concha characterized Psaki’s words as “outright slander.” He added, “I mean, Peppermint Patty here is just making stuff up and has zero idea what she’s talking about. She can’t argue about policy, so she’s resorting to fabricated personal attacks.” Concha also remarked on the political climate, stating, “it’s such a toxic time right now” with “personal attacks and ad hominem stuff.”
The hosts of Fox & Friends echoed these sentiments, with Lawrence Jones stating, “She should apologize.” Others on the program described Psaki’s remarks as “so nasty” and “disturbing.” Co-host Brian Kilmeade responded to the call for an apology by saying, “I would not hold your breath.”
During a segment on America’s Newsroom, Fox News contributor and radio host Hugh Hewitt suggested Psaki felt she was in a “safe space” on a podcast appealing to the “far-left edge of the Democratic Party.” Hewitt, who was formerly a paid commentator for MSNBC, asserted that the comments indicated the “left is out of ideas” and must resort to “insults” due to a lack of “substance.”
The White House also weighed in, with Communications Director Steven Cheung issuing a strongly-worded statement on X. “Jen Psuki must be transferring her own personal issues onto others,” Cheung wrote, using a deliberate misspelling of Psaki’s name. He continued, calling her “a dumba** who has no comprehension of the truth and has to overcompensate for her lack of talent by saying untrue things. Circle back on that, moron.”
During the podcast, Psaki’s comments about Usha Vance were part of a broader critique of Vice President Vance, whom she described as more concerning than Donald Trump due to his youth and ambition. “He wants to be president more than anything else,” she said, labeling the 41-year-old vice president a “little Manchurian candidate” and a “chameleon who makes himself into whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear from him.” Psaki claimed Vance is “agile” and “willing to do anything to get there,” which makes him “scarier in certain ways” than Trump.
Amid the backlash, some Fox News personalities suggested a general rule against targeting political spouses. “I think another rule in general is don’t go after the spouse. Why would you do that? It is not helpful,” anchor Dana Perino said. Similarly, Fox & Friends First co-host Todd Piro questioned what the reaction would be if Kayleigh McEnany, a former Trump spokesperson and current Fox News host, had “attacked Kamala Harris.”
This controversy has also drawn attention to past instances where conservative media figures targeted the families of Democratic officials. Michelle Obama was a frequent subject of criticism from conservative outlets during her husband’s presidency. More recently, during John Fetterman’s 2022 Senate campaign, his wife Gisele Fetterman faced scrutiny from Fox News hosts. Laura Ingraham described what she saw as “a cruel political calculation by a stage wife and political nihilist” regarding Fetterman’s return to the campaign trail after his stroke. Her colleague Jesse Watters questioned if “the bisexual Brazilian immigrant [had] been vetted.” Kayleigh McEnany has also directed attacks at Vice President Kamala Harris, stating last month that Harris refused to take accountability for her own “incompetence.”
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