Jen Psaki: Democrats will lose the midterms if they make the election about Biden

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Former White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki had a dire warning for fellow Democrats, stating on MSNBC that the Democrats stand to lose the upcoming November midterms if they allow the election to be a referendum on the performance of President Joe Biden.

Psaki, who recently moved from her gig at the White House to work for MSNBC, joined Chuck Todd on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press" to discuss the Democrats’ chances at the upcoming election.

She told Todd that if the Democrats want to win, they should try to keep the focus on extremism within the Republican party.

On the upcoming midterm elections, former top Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki admits "if it is a referendum on the president, [Democrats] will lose." pic.twitter.com/g3bqRgWHCy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 25, 2022

During the segment, Todd opened up with a discussion on an ad released by the Democrats against Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, which connected abortion rights and crime.

He asked if democrats were trying too hard to connect the two issues.

“I’m not sure how this is either — really effective, or you’re trying to get the voter to take two issues and tie them together, you’re trying too hard, I don’t know,” Todd stated. “But an interesting response.”

“Look, I think that Democrats — if the election is about who is the most extreme, as we saw, you know, Kevin McCarthy touch on there with Marjorie Taylor Greene, I’ll say her name, sitting over his left side, then they’re going to win,” Psaki replied. “If it is a referendum on the president, they will lose.”

Psaki described a number of key issues that resonate with voters, notably crime and the economy, and states in which they might play a role in driving voters to the polls:

Crime is a huge vulnerability for Democrats. I would say one of the biggest vulnerabilities.

And if you look at Pennsylvania, for example, what’s been interesting to me is it’s always you follow the money, and where are people spending money. And in Pennsylvania, the Republicans have been spending millions of dollars on the air on crime ads against [Democrat John] Fetterman because that’s where they see his vulnerability.

So, yes, the economy is hanging over everything.

But you do have to look at state by state factors. And crime is a huge issue in the Pennsylvania race.