White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Biden “stands by everything he said” in his fiery Georgia speech last week that many criticized as divisive.
During her daily press briefing Tuesday, Psaki was asked to address the backlash Biden has received since his speech in Georgia, where the president declared that opponents of the Democrats’ election law overhaul bill were on the side of reviled figures like segregationist Gov. George Wallace and Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
“I would say first that, you know, the president delivered a powerful speech about the protection of people’s fundamental rights in this country,” Psaki said, “which is their right to vote – the right to vote for anyone they choose, whether it is him or someone else. It was not a partisan speech. It was intended to lay out for the public exactly what’s at stake and lay out for elected officials what’s at stake. And he stands by everything he said in that speech.”
Pressed for details about the “genesis” of the speech, Psaki responded, “There have been discussions for months on voting rights on the Hill with Democrats, certainly an open door to Republicans to have a discussion among members and among staff about a path forward, something that 16 Republicans who are serving today have supported in the past. And also he consulted a lot with civil rights leaders, we consulted with civil rights leaders, with voting rights activists and others who have been working around the clock to advocate for voting rights.”