Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki is retracting a claim from her new book Say More regarding an incident involving President Biden and an infamous wrist-worn timepiece during the time when 13 US servicemen were killed in Afghanistan amid Biden’s pullout from the nation.
Psaki initially wrote that Biden did not check his watch during the ceremony, countering critics who argued that such actions portrayed him as insensitive.
However, the progressive outlet Axios reported inconsistencies with this claim, as photos and videos, along with media fact-checkers at the time, confirmed Biden did look at his watch.
Recognizing the error, Psaki conceded that specific details about the frequency of Biden checking his watch would be omitted in future reprints and the e-book version, although she did not directly address the claim’s inaccuracy, telling Axios that the “detail in a few lines of the book about the exact number of times he looked at his watch will be removed in future reprints and the ebook.”
Psaki further commented on the broader narrative of the book, which reflects on the importance of honest feedback in leadership.
“The story on Afghanistan is really about the importance of delivering feedback even when it is difficult told through my own experience of telling President Biden that his own story of loss was not well received by the families who were grieving their sons and daughters,” Psaki added to the outlet.
Scribner, the book’s publisher, told the New York Post that the mistake “will be corrected in the e-book and future printings, due to inaccuracies as originally written.”
Gold Star families affected by the misrepresented events expressed their distress and demanded both a retraction and an apology from Psaki.
“It needs to be removed,” said Darin Hoover, whose son, Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, died in the incident, per the New York Post. Hoover found Psaki’s account in the book highly offensive.
“To go and put this in the book and memorialize it for all to see is nothing short of disgusting. I mean, it’s reprehensible to me,” Hoover added.
Similarly, Coral Briseno, mother of Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, emphasized the families’ quest for justice and their impartiality to political figures.
“We are not liars. We’re just seeking for justice for our kids. And we are not trying to make this up. We’re not trying to make anybody look bad. We don’t care if it was Trump or if it was Biden,” Briseno said, per the New York Post.
The issue also evoked strong reactions from other bereaved family members, who shared their profound disappointment and the emotional toll of the administration’s handling of the narrative.
“I blasted Biden about the watch deal at the family roundtable, and I brought it up several times in numerous interviews. Jen Psaki’s full of s–t,” added Mark Schmitz, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, also to the New York Post.
“She was 100% out of line saying that. She wasn’t there,” Schmitz continued. Her only motive would be personal, financial or political — and at the cost of our emotions. And the last thing we need is to have this relived yet again, and here we are.”
