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Sex-Change Procedures for Minors Cause ‘Irreversible’ Damage for ‘Very Weak Evidence of Benefit’: HHS Report

Filed Under: INVESTIGATIONS, Washington Free Beacon

The Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released a comprehensive review warning that sex-change surgeries and interventions for minors carry “significant risks” but have “very weak evidence of benefit.”

Transgender procedures—including puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and sex-change surgeries—are all “associated with significant risks,” with most causing “irreversible physical or physiological effects,” according to the 409-page report. The HHS researchers added that there is “very weak evidence” that the procedures offer any benefit for children suffering from gender dysphoria, citing “systematic reviews of evidence around the world.”

The review comes in response to President Donald Trump’s January 28 executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The order prohibits “the chemical castration and medical mutilation of innocent children in the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. “Our Nation will no longer fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support so-called ‘gender affirming care,’ which has already ruined far too many precious lives.”

“This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end,” Trump’s order states.

The White House released a fact sheet earlier this week condemning former president Joe Biden for promoting “a grotesque social and scientific experiment on American children.”

“During the first three years of [Biden’s] administration alone, more than 7,000 children were administered puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones,” the fact sheet reads. “Over 4,000 were subjected to sex-trait modification surgical interventions, such as mastectomies.”

The HHS in a Thursday press release said the report “fills a gap in the medical literature and existing clinical practice reviews with regard to the ethical aspects of pediatric medical transition,” with the report noting that children and their families “require, and are entitled to, accurate, evidence-based information to guide their decisions.”

“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children—not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” said National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”

The post Sex-Change Procedures for Minors Cause ‘Irreversible’ Damage for ‘Very Weak Evidence of Benefit’: HHS Report appeared first on .

Cagey Cajun: James Carville Compares David Hogg to Civil War Hero

Filed Under: INVESTIGATIONS, Washington Free Beacon

Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville likened DNC vice chair David Hogg to Civil War hero and former president Ulysses S. Grant—just hours after blasting Hogg’s plan to primary the party’s own incumbents as “jackassery of the highest level.”

“Just called [Hogg],” Carville wrote in an X post Wednesday evening. “He reminded me of the story of, after the battle of Shiloh, Henry Halleck urg[ing] President Lincoln to fire Ulysses Grant. Lincoln said: ‘I can’t fire him. This man fights.’ David Hogg fights. The DNC needs him.”

Hours earlier, Carville, who calls himself the “Ragin’ Cajun,” had clashed with Hogg on the Tara Palmeri Show. Hogg’s plan to “go out and raise money to defeat” party incumbents while serving as “an official of a political party who is being paid or supported by that political party” is “jackassery of the highest level,” Carville told Hogg on the show.

“I’ll tell you right your face,” Carville went on: “I think it’s abominable that you have anything to do with the DNC.”

When Hogg tried to explain his plan, Carville said he didn’t understand.

“You’re not gonna raise money to run against Democrats, or you are gonna raise money to run against Democrats?” Carville asked.

“You have to understand the nuance here—” Hogg said.

“I don’t,” Carville interjected. “There’s no nuance to it. It’s just flat-out wrong. It’s flat-out wrong to use money that we could be [using] to beat Republicans to beat Democrats.”

The veteran strategist’s about-face comes as Hogg has faced intraparty backlash over his $20 million pledge to fund younger, more left-wing candidates to replace “ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats in deep-blue House districts. DNC chairman Ken Martin, who has publicly criticized Hogg’s campaign, unveiled a proposal last week requiring all committee officials to remain neutral in Democratic primaries—effectively forcing Hogg to end the funding effort or resign as vice chair.

The DNC will also meet May 12 to review a challenge to Hogg’s election as vice chair, following allegations that the February vote was “fatally flawed” and “discriminated against three women of color candidates.”

Hogg has remained defiant, insisting that he will neither step down nor stop nor his campaign against incumbents.

The Wednesday appearance was not the first war of words between Carville, 80, and Hogg, 25. Carville last month called Hogg a “contemptible little twerp,” leading the youth activist to say that “Carville believes in a politics of being timid, of hiding.”

The post Cagey Cajun: James Carville Compares David Hogg to Civil War Hero appeared first on .

MUST SEE: Stephen Miller GOES OFF in Explosive Five-Minute-Long Rebuke of the Fake News Media for Shilling for Terrorists and Failing Death and Destruction Caused by Biden’s Illegals (VIDEO)

Filed Under: Gateway Pundit, INVESTIGATIONS

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller once again skillfully destroyed the leftist media for their cover-up of illegal alien crime during a press briefing on Thursday.

Miller joined Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in the briefing room this morning to discuss the Trump administration’s return to common sense in the first 100 days.

One reporter foolishly asked about rumors that the Trump Administration is in talks with El Salvador to inquire about returning deported MS-13 terrorist Kilmar Garcia Abrego, and Miller let it rip.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, a reporter asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio a similar question during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Rubio leveled her with his response, saying, “I would never tell you that, and you know who else I would never tell? A judge.”

WATCH: Marco Rubio Shreds Reporter Asking if He’s Been in Touch with El Salvador Regarding Deported MS-13 Gangster Kilmar Abrego Garcia – Says He Doesn’t Need to Tell Her or a Judge About Foreign Policy

Miller reiterated Rubio’s comments, saying it is at his discretion and that the administration “is not going to publicly discuss the inside details of our foreign policy and negotiations with a foreign country.” He continued, “And in particular, we are not going to allow a district court judge to try to become the Secretary of State.”

This also comes amid a new assessment from the FBI suggesting that the Venezuelan Maduro Regime is ‘likely facilitating’ members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua from Venezuela to the United States to undermine public safety in the U.S. Miller called out the press for ignoring this story as well as the countless Americans murdered by violent illegal aliens as they instead “shill for this MS-13 terrorists.”

He highlighted the rape and murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungary in Texas, which was committed by two violent illegal aliens who Biden gave “extensive due process to” instead of rightfully blocking their entry at the border.

Miller absolutely lit up the reporter for about five minutes straight!

WATCH:

Reporter: The administration is reportedly inquiring about [Garcia Abrego’s] return. Is that to check a box for compliance, or does President Trump want him back on US soil?

Miller: As Secretary Rubio said yesterday in the Cabinet meeting, this administration is not going to publicly discuss the inside details of our foreign policy and negotiations with a foreign country, and in particular, we are not going to allow a district court judge to try to become the Secretary of State. Secretary Rubio is the one who, under his leadership and direction at the State Department, is managing the day-to-day relationship with El Salvador. Let’s just take a moment, number one, to express our gratitude to El Salvador for agreeing to take some of the most dangerous terrorists off of America’s streets and to put them into a safe environment, where they cannot continue to engage in acts of terrorism or coordination with the Maduro Regime.

You may have seen recently an FBI assessment that was unclassified that said that the Maduro regime is using and planning to use Tren de Aragua terrorists to carry out assassination plots on American soil. Now, very few in this room covered that. I’ll let you all ask yourselves why you didn’t cover it and why your editors didn’t assign that story to you, something I think you should think about on your own. But this is a earth shattering piece of news. The Biden administration imported the terrorist army that our own FBI assesses is planning assassination strikes on American soil against critics of the Maduro regime. Those are the terrorists that President Trump is finding and apprehending that our Democrat judges and Democrat activists are trying to keep on US soil. Tren de Aragua has the same legal status as Al Qaeda and ISIS. MS-13 has the same legal status as Al Qaeda and ISIS. These are foreign terrorists operating on our soil, nd our gratitude to El Salvador for agreeing to take custody of these terrorists is immense.

With respect to the case that you mentioned, there’s now even been more evidence that has been made public of this person’s violent repeated threats and assaults against his spouse. Someone who had repeated documented human trafficking and human smuggling offenses, somebody that has extensively documented membership in MS-13, a terrorist organization, and of course, he had MS-13 tattooed on his knuckles. This is a person that was a clear and present danger to the safety of the American people, and it’s a sad reflection on the state of our media and many of the outlets represented in this room that you obsessively try to shill for this MS-13 terrorists while no coverage occurred in your papers about any of the Americans that were raped and tortured and murdered by the illegals that Biden was importing into our country.

You know, you talk about due process. The Biden administration made the decision to give extensive due process to two Tren de Aragua terrorists that were apprehended at the border just a couple years ago. They were two gentlemen, they were from Venezuela, they were members of Tren de Aragua. The Biden administration Border Patrol apprehended them and made the decision to provide them with extensive due process, put them onto a program known as supervised release, and put them on ankle monitors so that they could go through a lengthy legal, judicial determination as to whether these illegal aliens who had just set foot on US soil might want to live the United States for the rest of their lives. What was the result of that decision? What was the result of that choice that was made? Those two men kidnapped a young girl named Jocelyn Nungary from her family. They beat her, they sexually assaulted her, they tortured her, they stripped her, they murdered her, and they dumped her body.

That is what the Biden administration’s policy was. Most of your papers never covered her story when it happened. To the extent that you covered it at all, it was because President Trump forced you to cover it by highlighting it repeatedly, over and over again. He had to shame you into covering it! And each and every one of you that sides over and over again with these MS-13 terrorists, to the extent that you have the financial means to do so, you all choose to live in condos, or homes, or houses as far away from these kinds of gang bangers as you possibly can.

If I offered any one of you a rent free home with no taxes to pay in any of these gang neighborhoods, and I said your neighbors are MS-13 terrorists or Mexican Mafia or Sinaloa Cartel or Tren de Aragua, I couldn’t pay you to live there. But yet you, with your coverage, are trying to force innocent Americans to have these people as their neighbors, and then one day, their daughter may be abducted from their home and raped and murdered. So, you’re not going to get an ounce of sympathy from this administration or President Trump for the terrorists who’ve invaded our homes and our country.

The post MUST SEE: Stephen Miller GOES OFF in Explosive Five-Minute-Long Rebuke of the Fake News Media for Shilling for Terrorists and Failing Death and Destruction Caused by Biden’s Illegals (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Treasury announces sanctions against major Mexican cartel network: ‘Their days were numbered’

Filed Under: INVESTIGATIONS, The Blaze

The Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday against three Mexican nationals and two entities based in Mexico over ties to a criminal cartel network.

The sanctions are being imposed in response to the alleged fentanyl trafficking and fuel theft linked to Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, according to a press release. The CJNG network generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually and has been designated a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist.

‘Their reign of terror will come to an end because of the strength and power that President Trump has brought back to the Oval Office.’

“President Trump promised the American public that he would ensure that their safety was at the forefront of every action that he took when he secured the border,” Paul Anthony Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, said in a statement.

“Taking on the cartels and their illicit financial networks will have a devastating and crippling edict on their ability to operate in the United States,” Perez added.

This is officially the eighth action the Treasury Department has taken against cartels under President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“When President Trump took the oath of office, the criminal cartels were put on notice that their days were numbered,” Perez said. “These actions today will ensure that the cartels no longer have the ability to provide unlimited funds to further their criminal enterprises and, at the same time, it will allow the United States Government to disrupt their daily activities on both sides of the border.”

“Their reign of terror will come to an end because of the strength and power that President Trump has brought back to the Oval Office.”

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Steve Deace in the White House: Unpacking Trump’s first 100 days with key insiders

Filed Under: INVESTIGATIONS, The Blaze

As part of President Trump’s first 100 days commemoration, Steve Deace, Todd Erzen, and Aaron McIntire — hosts of the “Steve Deace Show” — had the immense privilege of visiting the White House.

“The Trump administration came out like a force of nature from day one — basically launched an all-out amphibious land, sea, air assault against the spirit of the age on every issue conceivable,” says Steve, standing in front of the White House.

One issue the administration began tackling just moments after President Trump was sworn into office is immigration. To get more information on the state of the border and what’s next in the fight to restore the nation’s sovereignty, Steve interviewed Customs and Border Protection Senior Adviser Ronald Vitiello.

Steve’s most pressing question was, “Where’s Congress?” While the Trump administration has made excellent moves to secure the border, if codification doesn’t happen, the next Democrat president could usher in another era of open border policies and undo all the work Trump has accomplished.

Vitiello shared Steve’s frustration at Congress’ slow pace in codifying border security measures and contrasted it with the rapid executive actions taken by President Trump. He argued that not only does Congress need to fill resource gaps in the budget, which is based on Biden’s framework, so that they can continue to support Trump’s border priorities, but it also needs to reinforce executive orders, such as ending catch-and-release and limiting district judges’ rulings, to ensure these policies endure beyond the current administration.

Despite delays, he’s hopeful codification is on the horizon.

Another burning question Steve had was, “What’s the endgame?”

Vitiello explained that the overarching goal for the border issue is to maintain and enhance current physical border security and interior immigration enforcement, scaling up efforts with more resources and policies for greater impact. He emphasized sustaining measures like the border wall, which is durable and resists policy reversals by future administrations.”

If the Trump administration can accomplish this, and he’s confident it will, it will be “a win for not just this presidency but for the American people for generations,” he said.

In Steve’s next interview, he met with Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to find out how President Trump is working to make homes affordable again.

“The housing market has taken a major tumble between COVID and the last four years, so how do we rebound that given it’s one of the key sectors of our economy?” Steve asked.

“There’s probably only one person and that’s President Trump who could fix this problem,” said Pulte, noting that what Trump is doing with inflation is “nothing short of miraculous.”

However, as chairman of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Pulte knows he has his work cut out for him, as historically, the companies have been rife with corruption.

“We’re turning [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] around, Steve. … Basically nobody was working for the most part in these offices. We ordered people back to work,” he said, adding that the agencies are now being “run like businesses” and are utilizing the Department of Government Efficiency to root out waste and abuse.

“The unnecessary redundant bureaucracy is going away, and we’re also focused on mortgage fraud — getting rid of fraud in the system,” said Pulte. “We’re tightening the whole ship and making sure that we don’t ever have a 2008 again.”

Pulte has already signed “over 50 orders” that impact federal housing in Trump’s first 100 days and expects the next 100 days will see the elimination of even more corrupt bureaucracy.

In Steve’s final interview, he met with White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr to discuss the multifaceted, flood-the-zone strategy of the communications team and what they’re working on next.

“What you’re doing right now and you being here has been really important to us because we’ve opened up the door to all sorts of alternative media outlets that maybe don’t have a day-to-day touch point with the White House,” Dorr told Steve. “For far too long, the American people had to come begging and pleading for scraps of information about what was going on.”

He emphasized the importance of alternative media outlets, like Blaze Media, given mainstream outlets come to press meetings with an agenda and a strong bias, preventing citizens from getting the straight facts.

“We’re trying to restore that customer service ethos to everything that we do,” said Dorr.

“What’s the biggest difference here on day 100 compared to day one when you guys came in?” Steve asked.

“The gloves are completely and totally off,” said Dorr. “The social media content we put out — it’s a little spicy in all the right ways.”

And it’s paying off.

“On YouTube and some of these other platforms, we’ve already in 100 days 4-Xed our audiences from the Biden administration,” said Dorr. “We’re going to continue to play offense on everything across the board.”

To hear Steve’s full interviews, as well as watch his surprise bonus interview with Dean Cain, watch the episode above.

Want more from Steve Deace?

To enjoy more of Steve’s take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and His Deputy Alex Wong OUT Following Signal Chat Incident

Filed Under: Gateway Pundit, INVESTIGATIONS

Credit: Gage Skidmore

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, who added a vile Trump-hating reporter to a signal chat group that discussed “attack plans,” is on his way out the door.

Mark Halperin went on his 2Way YouTube show this morning and said three different sources have told him that President Trump would fire Waltz following the signal chat incident. He added that there was deep dissatisfaction with Waltz and Wong throughout the White House

“Three different people have confirmed that the plan by the White House is to remove the National Security advisor Mike Waltz and his deputy Alex Wong and much of the team at the National Security Council because of unhappiness throughout the national security establishment as to how they are doing,” Halperin said.

Halperin also revealed another interesting tidbit. Waltz’s expected firing is unrelated to Signalgate, and the ‘scandal’ may have instead temporarily saved Waltz’s job.

“The West Wing is unhappy, the State Department is unhappy…This was before Signalgate, Halperin stated. “Ironically, Signalgate may have saved Waltz’s job because the President did not want to be seen that he was giving into Jeffrey Goldberg.”

WATCH:

Jennifer Jacobs of CBS News also confirmed Waltz and Wong would be departing their posts.

Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News also confirmed Waltz and Wong were out. She added Trump would speak on the matter soon.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Jeffrey Goldberg, the Trump-hating editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, claimed he was “accidentally” added to a secure Signal group chat by National Security Adviser Mike Waltz where top Trump administration officials discussed sensitive military operations against Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen and called them “war plans.”

But instead of leaving the conversation, Goldberg took screenshots of the conversation and ran to his keyboard to try to leak the military operation. Team Trump angrily fired back and called Goldberg a liar, saying no war plans were discussed.

Then, Goldberg and his co-worker Shane Harris published details of the military plans against the Houthis to call Team Trump’s bluff and humiliate Trump. But Goldberg ended up accidentally proving them right by suddenly referring to the military operations as “attack plans.”

The post BREAKING: National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and His Deputy Alex Wong OUT Following Signal Chat Incident appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Colbert and Psaki Mourn 100 Days Of Trump’s ‘Fire Hose of Dirty Water’

Filed Under: INVESTIGATIONS, Newsbusters

Former White House Press Secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki joined CBS’s Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Wednesday for three segments full of loathing President Trump and his “fire hose of dirty water” and “do-nothing Democrats” like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Colbert quipped, “Let’s talk about just yesterday was Trump’s 100th day in office; how did you celebrate?”

 

 

Psaki mourned, “I mean, I just covered my eyes, pretended it never happened. No, I did not do that. Look, I, most days, I don’t know if you feel this way, I know that you are a big observer of the news, explainer of the news, most of the time I feel like I am drinking from a fire hose of dirty water. Like, I feel, so overwhelming and the last 100 days have felt that way.”

After further lamentations about the administration’s “flooding the zone” strategy, Colbert cited one of his favorite guests, “Throw so many things over the plate you don’t know what to swing at. And it’s kind of successful, because there’s so many things are happening at once. I believe Elizabeth Warren, for the 100th day, put out 100 corrupt things Trump has done since he has taken office. And some of the things I don’t know about, and I do my best to pay attention.”

It should be said that many of the things on Warren’s list are just things about Trump she disagrees with. For example, several of her bullet points are just cabinet, ambassadorial, or other government appointees.

Later, the duo approached the topic of Trump’s relationship with the media, with Colbert wondering, “Are you worried about journalists caving to the pressure of the Trump Administration, and denying the public the truth that they need to hear?”

 

 

Psaki replied she was, but had to twist recent White House press changes to do it, “Yes. I mean, first of all, when you’re kicking out the AP and Bloomberg and Reuters, I mean, these are reporters asking things like ‘What do you say about the bond market? What about these ceasefire negotiations?’ They’re not gotcha questions. They are there to cover the actual news policymaking happening in any administration.”

Nobody’s been kicked out; they’ve just been placed in a rotation. With no self-awareness of what MSNBC is like on a daily basis, Psaki rolled on, “What happens is stories are killed, voices aren’t invited on, stories are muted, they’re watered down. We have seen this happen recently. We don’t know all of the details behind the scenes with 60 Minutes, but the resignation of—with Bill Owens resigning is a significant statement of what they felt they were experiencing on one of the nation’s—”  

Colbert also sought Psaki’s opinion on the woman who currently holds her old job, “You had confrontational press when you were the press secretary, you see Karoline Leavitt up there doing her thing. First of all, not an easy job for someone that young… What do you think she’s doing so far?”

The idea that Psaki had a similar “confrontational press” aside, Psaki condemned Leavitt, “She is serving one person, he selected her for that reason. She is using the room, but what she’s not doing is using it as a room to provide accurate information to the public, using it as a room to be a defender, and an advocate for the need to do that.”

 

 

Colbert then moved onto the state of the Democratic Party, “You wrote a book called Say More: Communicating at Work, at Home, and in the World. What are the Democrats’ biggest communication problems right now? What are they not doing?”

For Psaki, the problem isn’t that Democrats have gone too far left, but rather, it’s a simple messaging problem, “Well, I think what’s pretty clear is not enough of them are fighting, far too many are still relying on the old tactics of ever yore.”

A sarcastic Colbert interrupted, “But Chuck Schumer, he wrote a very strong letter.” Psaki also got in on the sarcasm, “With eight strongly worded questions,” to which Colbert added, “What more can you ask of a leader?”

Eventually, Colbert turned to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, “What’d you make of Prtizker’s speech?”

Psaki was a big fan:

He was incredibly powerful and strong. The message he was sending was, ‘I’m a fighter. I’m going to say the things. I will call out the ‘do-nothing Democrats’,’ his words, not my words. He’s going to call out what he is seeing in the Trump Administration and I think what we are seeing right now is that there is a divide, basically. There are people who are out there doing stuff and by doing stuff I mean that it can be anything, go lead a protest, go to a red state, go hold a town hall, go to El Salvador. Whatever it may be, do stuff, people want to see you’re fighting and doing things. If Democrats will rely on the tactics of old, they will lose, and so hopefully more people come onto the fighting side.

Pritzker’s definition of “doing things” is to go on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday and continue ranting into the echo chamber and claim that Democrats’ road back to power is to double down and simply bang the pots and pans a little louder.

Here is a transcript for the April 30-taped show:

CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

5/1/2025

12:07 AM ET

STEPHEN COLBERT: Let’s talk about just yesterday was Trump’s 100th day in office; how did you celebrate?

JEN PSAKI: I mean, I just covered my eyes, pretended it never happened. No, I did not do that. Look, I, most days, I don’t know if you feel this way, I know that you are a big observer of the news, explainer of the news—

COLBERT: Yes.

PSAKI: — Most of the time I feel like I am drinking from a fire hose of dirty water. Like, I feel, so overwhelming and the last 100 days have felt that way.

COLBERT: That’s part of the plan, isn’t it? 

PSAKI: That’s part of the plan.

COLBERT: What’s the term? Flooding the zone.

PSAKI: They literally say this out loud. 

COLBERT: They’re flooding the zone.

PSAKI: They tell us all.

COLBERT: Yeah.

PSAKI: We’re going to flood the zone so you can’t pay attention to what we are doing behind the scenes which is quite telling.

COLBERT: Right. Throw so many things over the plate you don’t know what to swing at. 

PSAKI: Exactly. Exactly.

COLBERT: And it’s kind of successful, because there’s so many things are happening at once, I believe Elizabeth Warren, for 100th day put out 100 corrupt things Trump has done since he has taken office. And some of the things I don’t know about, and I do my best to pay attention. 

…

COLBERT: Are you worried about journalists caving to the pressure of the Trump Administration, and denying the public the truth that they need to hear?

PSAKI: Yes. I mean, first of all, when you’re kicking out the AP and Bloomberg and Reuters, I mean, these are reporters asking things like “What do you say about the bond market? What about these ceasefire negotiations?” They’re not gotcha questions. They are there to cover the actual news policymaking happening in any administration. 

And here’s why I am very concerned, because I think, while I am newly on the media side of things, I’ve worked with media for more than two decades. What– where the decisions are made are often behind the scenes. So, there is no media organization or outlet or reporter who’s going to say, “we are going to obey an advance now.”

That’s not how it is going to work. What happens is stories are killed, voices aren’t invited on, stories are muted, they’re watered down. We have seen this happen recently. We don’t know all of the details behind the scenes with 60 Minutes, but the resignation of—with Bill Owens resigning is a significant statement of what they felt they were experiencing on one of the nation’s—.

…

COLBERT: You had confrontational press when you were the press secretary, you see Karoline Leavitt up there doing her thing. First of all, not an easy job—

PSKAKI: No.

COLBERT: — for someone that young.

PSAKI: For anyone, but yes, for sure.

COLBERT: For anyone, but the older you get, the thicker your skin gets.

PSAKI: That’s true.

COLBERT: What do you think she’s doing so far?

PSAKI: She is serving one person, he selected her for that reason. She is using the room, but what she’s not doing is using it as a room to provide accurate information to the public, using it as a room to be a defender, and an advocate for the need to do that.

COLBERT: And are you prepared for when she attacks you for saying that.

PSAKI: I am. It’s okay. Come on down.

COLBERT: Okay, great. So, again, you have used your experience as a communications professional. You wrote a book called Say More: Communicating at Work, at Home, and in the World. What are the Democrats’ biggest communication problems right now? What are they not doing?

PSAKI: Well, I think what’s pretty clear is not enough of them are fighting, far too many are still relying on the old tactics—

COLBERT: Yeah.

PSAKI: — of ever lore.

COLBERT: But Chuck Schumer, he wrote a very strong letter.

PSAKI: With eight strongly worded questions.

COLBERT: What more can you ask of a leader?

PSAKI: You left out that part.

COLBERT: That’s exactly right.

PSAKI: If that’s not going to make you shake in your boots, what is?

COLBERT: What’d you make of Prtizker’s speech?

PSAKI: I thought JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, I thought it was–there are some JB Pritzker fans here.

COLBERT: Sure.

PSAKI: He was incredibly powerful and strong. The message he was sending was, “I’m a fighter. I’m going to say the things. I will call out the ‘do-nothing Democrats’,” his words, not my words. He’s going to call out what he is seeing in the Trump Administration and I think what we are seeing right now is that there is a divide, basically. There are people who are out there doing stuff and by doing stuff I mean that it can be anything, go lead a protest, go to a red state, go hold a town hall, go to El Salvador. Whatever it may be, do stuff, people want to see you’re fighting and doing things. If Democrats will rely on the tactics of old, they will lose, and so hopefully more people come onto the fighting side.

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