Returning to the White House, this time as press secretary, Jen Psaki, known for her controversial comments, screwed up again. This time she surprised reporters by confusing the U.S. Space Force with the presidential plane.
At a press conference on February 2, a reporter asked her if Biden had made any decisions about the future of the Space Force that was created by the US Congress in December 2019 with the support of the Trump Administration. There had been speculation that the new president would not support her, although he himself has not yet commented on the matter.
“Wow. Space Force. It’s the plane of today. It is an interesting question. I am happy to check with our Space Force point of contact. I’m not sure who that is. I will find out and see if we have any update on that,” she said.
.@PressSec: "Wow, Space Force. It's the plane of today." pic.twitter.com/vanEWudHvE
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 2, 2021
Her response on this matter has been harshly criticized by the member of the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers. He called for an immediate apology for this “embarrassing comment.”
“It’s concerning to see the Biden administration’s press secretary blatantly diminish an entire branch of our military as the punchline of a joke, which I’m sure China would find funny,” said Republican Rep. Mike Rogers.
As a result of that criticism, Psaki turns out to Twitter to underline how important the work of the US Space Force is. However, she did not apologize for what she said.
“We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work,” she wrote.
We look forward to the continuing work of Space Force and invite the members of the team to come visit us in the briefing room anytime to share an update on their important work.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 3, 2021