Politico has created a new heading to cheer Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy for his mask-related grillings of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki: “DOOCE ON THE LOOSE”.
In the latest edition of Politico’s West Wing Playbook newsletter, the authors presented what they called “another episode of Dooce on the loose,” which consisted of an exchange between Doocy and Psaki on the subject of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden being photographed at a restaurant without masks:
DOOCE ON THE LOOSE — Fox News’ PETER DOOCY grilled press secretary JEN PSAKI on Biden not wearing a mask while walking through a D.C. restaurant Saturday evening while out on a date night with FLOTUS.”There is a mask requirement inside D.C. restaurants, yet President Biden and the first lady were not wearing masks,” Doocy said, referring to an Instagram video from a diner that Republicans gleefully circulated over the weekend.Psaki acknowledged that “there are moments when we all don’t put masks back on as quickly as we should.” Doocy followed up but Psaki responded simply that, “I think I just addressed it.”And thus concluded another episode of Dooce on the loose.
In their delight to continue the DOOCE ON THE LOOSE series, Politico neglected to point out how poorly the last episode has aged. Here’s the inaugural episode, from July:
DOOCE ON THE LOOSE: Fox News’ White House reporter PETER DOOCY pushed
press secretary JEN PSAKI on new masking guidance for the vaccinated. “If it’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated still then why do vaccinated people need to put the masks back on?” he asked.Psaki pointed to a chart showing how the Delta variant was hurting the unvaccinated. Doocy followed up, asking: “But if the vaccines work, which this sign says that they do, then why do people who have had the vaccine need to now wear masks the same as people who have not had any?”Psaki’s response was unsatisfying to some on the right. “Because the public health leaders in our administration have made the determination based on data that that is a way to make sure they’re protected, their loved ones are protected, and that’s an extra step given the transmissibility of the virus.”
Missing from Politico’s episode recap was the fact that Doocy followed up by explicitly casting doubt on either the vaccines or the mask guidance, or both, by asking “But if the vaccines work, which this sign says that they do, then why do people who had the vaccine need to now wear masks — the same as people who have not had it?”
As most of us knew then, and as the untimely and tragic death of former Secretary of State Colin Powell should vividly demonstrate to everyone else, masking up still offers life-saving protection from a variant that has proven to be much more transmissible
Doocy and Psaki have contentious exchanges like these several times a week, but Politico has oddly chosen this one theme to elevate and cheer. And while the doe-eyed among Doocy’s media fans might say “But isn’t he just speaking truth to power?”, the pattern is clear: Doocy has engaged in a consistent effort to undermine mask guidance.
The object of his question Monday wasn’t to scold the president into setting an example that would strengthen adherence to mask mandates, it was to cast doubt on them. Yes, Biden was momentarily in violation of the mandate when he should not have been, but as Psaki noted, he wasn’t exactly frolicking through the restaurant, he was filmed and photographed on his way out after dining, not within 6 feet of anyone besides Dr. Jill. The question was a “Gotcha!” aimed at casting doubt on the policy.
That’s not speculation, it’s evidenced by a long pattern of attempts to undermine masks and vaccine mandates, and to court anti-mandate viewers —a pattern that includes that first episode of DOOCE ON THE LOOSE, and which began on Doocy’s second day on the job.
What’s sad is that while Doocy is much more ostentatious about his Foxxery on Covid precautions, he’s not alone. Reporters from almost every outlet have disgraced themselves by
Watch above via The White House.