STEM Fans Hail White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Jen Psaki, White House press secretary
(Image credit: 314 Action Fund)

The 314 Action Fund, a group pushing for electing more scientists and STEM-savvy candidates to public office, is soliciting “thank you’s” for White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who has signaled she is exiting next year. 

The solicitation comes with a request for a donation toward the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) candidate cause, but that’s not required to give Psaki a shout-out.

314 Action Fund said that after four years of “lies, misinformation and combative White House press briefings” under President Donald Trump ," Psaki returned “dignity, facts and science” to the proceedings.

Also Read: Grisham Out as White House Press Secretary

“Jen Psaki isn’t afraid to shut down anti-vaxxers and conservative journalists who try to spread misinformation about COVID-19,” the group said. “Armed with facts, sources, data, and expert opinions, Jen Psaki has spent each day restoring integrity to White House press briefings.”

The card effort comes the same week that former Trump administration Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham was prominent on cable news shows promoting her book, including her admission to ABC‘s George Stephanopoulos that she had enabled ”a culture of casual dishonesty.” She also said she could probably never atone for her role in the Trump administration's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grisham actually never held a daily press briefing, instead issuing statements defending the president during Trump‘s moratorium on daily briefings, or what Reporters without Borders dubbed at the time a “strategic press restriction.”

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.