Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki is facing widespread backlash after making controversial comments about Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha during a recent podcast appearance.
Psaki appeared on the “I’ve Had It” podcast Tuesday, where the conversation turned to members of the Trump administration.
During the discussion, she made remarks that have since drawn sharp criticism from conservative commentators and social media users.
The MSNBC host referred to Vance as “the little Manchurian candidate” and suggested he harbors strong presidential ambitions.
She then turned her attention to his marriage, making comments that many have condemned as inappropriate.
“I always wonder what’s going on in the mind of his wife. Like, are you OK? Please blink four times. We’ll come over here. We’ll save you,” Psaki said during the podcast.
She continued by characterizing Vance as someone “willing to do anything” to achieve his political goals.
Psaki also stated that the vice president is “scarier in certain ways” than President Donald Trump.
“And he’s young and ambitious and agile in the sense that he’s a chameleon who makes himself whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear from him,” she added.
The podcast episode’s description amplified the controversial joke, stating, “Usha Vance, please blink twice if you need help.”
The comments quickly spread across social media platforms, prompting strong reactions from conservative voices and political commentators.
Multiple users on X described Psaki’s statements as “disgusting” and “vile.”
Fox News contributor Joe Concha responded tersely to the remarks, writing, “Not a good person. At all.”
The Libs of TikTok account posted a lengthy criticism, calling Psaki “unhinged” and stating that MSNBC “should be ashamed to pay her salary.”
The account accused her of smearing Vance and making inappropriate suggestions about his marriage.
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Townhall.com writer Amy Curtis offered a pointed defense of Usha Vance’s marriage.
She called Psaki’s comments “absolutely vile” and noted that Usha Vance is happily married and made vows that “mean something.”
Curtis also emphasized that the remarks were “an insult to women who are in actual bad marriages,” suggesting that Psaki’s joke trivialized genuine domestic issues.
White House director of communications Steven Cheung delivered a harsh rebuke of the MSNBC host.
He suggested Psaki was “transferring her own personal issues onto others” and criticized her for making untrue statements.
Federalist senior legal correspondent Margot Cleveland responded with sarcasm, joking that the “pivot to ‘JD Vance is worse than Hitler’ started earlier than I anticipated.”
Conservative commentator Doug Powers also mocked the escalating rhetoric, writing that “A NEW ‘Worse than “worse than Hitler”‘ is on the way!”
Turning Point USA contributor Jack Posobiec pointed out the timing of Psaki’s comments, noting that Usha Vance was accompanying her husband in Israel at the time, where he was working on securing the Gaza Peace Deal.
Posebic called the remarks “absolutely disgusting,” the New York Post highlighted.
Psaki sparked controversy back in August following a deadly shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that left two people dead and 17 injured, Resist the Mainstream reported.
Psaki shockingly posted, “Prayer is not freaking enough.”
“Prayers does not end school shootings. prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school,” she continued.
“Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.”
