Fact Checking a Jen Psaki Statement on Whether Biden Once Said Travel Restrictions Were ‘Xenophobic’

It’s complicated.

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At a White House briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked: “Before Joe Biden was president, he said that COVID travel restrictions on foreign countries were ‘hysterical xenophobia’ and ‘fear mongering.’  So what changed?”

The question came after the Biden administration banned  travel from South Africa, where the latest variant of COVID-19 was recently detected, along with seven other African countries. 

Psaki responded by saying that “what the president was critical of was the way that the former president put out, I believe, a xenophobic tweet; and how he called — what he called the coronavirus; and who he directed it at.”

Psaki was referring to a tweet from March 18, 2020, in which Trump said: “I always treated the Chinese Virus very seriously, and have done a very good job from the beginning, including my very early decision to close the ‘borders’ from China — against the wishes of almost all. Many lives were saved. The Fake News new narrative is disgraceful & false!”

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  1. Avatar photo
    Ben Connelly

    An interesting fact check. The one thing we can avoid being nuanced is the inescapable conclusion that Biden (once again) put his foot in his mouth.

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  2. Avatar photo
    Derekdouglas

    Let's be honest. If the Trump administration banned travel from AFRICA, the Democrats and the media would be howling about xenophobic racism. Non-stop.

    Just another sign of the COVID response being white supremacy.

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  3. Jon

    It’s only “complicated” if you are Polifact and funded by George Soros. Pretty clear not just Biden but the entire D leadership that they attacked the travel ban based on racism/xenophobia and not policy. Not even a close call.

    Funny thing is there is a much stronger argument that the current Biden travel is “racist” than there ever was for the Trump COVID travel ban at the start of the Pandemic.

    So watch out all you D loving racist screamers. The chickens are coming home to roost

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  4. Avatar photo
    Victor Clairmont

    Hmmm, gotta disagree with this a bit.

    Everyone following Biden’s rallies in 2019 and the DNC interpreted it exactly in the light of the ban being racist and xenophobic.

    From chants to signs to need panels debating it, it was definitely interpreted that way by the audience and he did not shy away from the statements when he made them.

    They said the same thing when Trump shut down and did a travel ban from China, when he acted presidential for oh, about a month, before he started the Kung flu stuff. Before Trump made the comments, they said it was racist etc. etc.

    So, the history of the DNC, plus the way Biden has always been a demagogue and a liar going back to the Clarence Thomas hearings, to him helping to Bork Robert Bork, to him switching his mind on every single issue in his life when it was politically expedient….

    Personally I would move this from “it’s complicated” to, “Yes, he meant they were Xenephobic”.

    He did say Mitt Romney was going to put us minorities finically, “back in chains”.

    https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/joe-biden-put-yall-back-in-chains/

    But that may just be an amalgamation of his past character that leads me to put the comments in any good light.

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    1. Avatar photo
      Victor Clairmont

      *news panels and *Financially

      #editbutton

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