Psaki: “any allegation should be reviewed” 2/25/2021

On 2/25/2021, during the news briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the allegations made by former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan, who accused the governor of unwanted kissing and touching while she worked in his office. “The president has been consistent in his position,” Psaki said. “When a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Their voice should be heard and not silenced.” She added: “And any allegation should be reviewed.”

Question: And I know you were asked about this this weekend, but I’ll try again: Does President Biden still think Andrew Cuomo is the “gold standard” for COVID leadership and that he’s doing a “hell of a job,” which he has said about him?

Psaki: Well, first of all, I think, to be fair, let’s put all of the comments in context, which sometimes is missing from these conversations we have in here or during interviews. At the time — which was, I believe, April of last year — the President spoke out and said positive things about a range of governors, Democrats and Republicans, who were stepping in when there was a vacuum of leadership at the federal level, when they were getting no information, when they were getting no help and no guidance from the former Trump administration. He had — he made some positive comments about Governor Cuomo and his role in New York at the time, as he did about a range of governors.

Question: Great. I have a question to start off with about Neera Tanden. So when she tweeted that, quote, “a vampire has more heart than Ted Cruz,” when she compared Senator McConnell to Voldemort, and when she called Senator Collins, quote, “the worst,” did those comments meet the President’s standard of treating everyone with dignity and respect?

Psaki: Well, first I’ll note that when Neera Tanden testified just a few weeks ago, she apologized for her past comments and that she would be joining an administration where, as we’ve noted in here, there’s an expectation of a high bar of civility and engagement, whether that’s on social media or in person. And we certainly expect she would meet that bar.