White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday initially dismissed questions aiming to clarify comments by President Biden who said “the vast majority” of FBI and law enforcement officials are good people.
“What did he mean by … the vast majority part,” Fox News reporter Kristin Fisher asked Psaki during the daily press briefing.
“That’s exactly what he meant,” the press secretary replied, before abruptly moving on to another question.
Later, NBC News reporter Kristen Welker circled back to the notion of clarifying Biden’s comments on law enforcement, asking Psaki why Biden thought it was important to stress that the “vast majority” are honorable.
“Because I think he believes the men and women who have been serving our country in a variety of capacities have been criticized. Some of have been threatened. The roles they have been playing have been questioned over the last several years and he wanted to reiterate his support for the important work that they do,” Psaki said.
Welker pressed Psaki, adding “but not to say that all of them are, he made that delineation.”
Psaki said the point that Biden was attempting to make is “that despite reports of individuals in different areas who may have done things that are problematic that the vast majority of men and women serving in our law enforcement roles … do vital and essential work for the American people.”
The questions came the day after Biden made remarks Tuesday evening expressing condolences for the families of several FBI officers who were shot during a raid in Florida earlier in the day. Two of the officers died as a result of the shooting.
“You know, one of the things, when you are in a combat zone of the military or you’re a FBI agent, or military or a police officer, every family just — when they put that shield on and go out in the morning — dreads the possibility of a call — receiving that phone call,” Biden said. “But they put their lives on the line, and it’s a hell of a price to pay. And every single day, every single one of these folks get up and they — by and large, the vast, vast majority of these men and women are decent, honorable people who put themselves on the line, and we owe them.”
During the 2020 campaign, former President Trump, who ran on a “law and order” platform, knocked Biden over what he said was a lack of undivided support for law enforcement officials, particularly those working at-times violent protests over the summer in response to police-involved killings of Black people.
Biden’s comments on Tuesday night were similar to those made by Trump in regards to police officers after the death of George Floyd.
“The vast majority of police officers are selfless and courageous public servants. They are great men and women,” Trump said as he signed an executive order in June pledging support for local police departments and decrying what he called “radical” and “dangerous” pushes to diminish law enforcement resources by Democrats.