MS NOW’s Jen Psaki Hammers ‘Toxic’ Trump Over Looming Failure of Melania Movie

MS NOW host and former Biden White House press secretary Jen Psaki hammered President Donald Trump over the looming failure of the Amazon MGM Studios bio-doc about First Lady Melania Trump, which she connected to his “toxic” ICE operations.

The Brett Ratner-directed documentary was screened at the White House, and is set to open this weekend with a $40 million production budget and $35 million promo pricetag to recoup. But early indications are that the film will open weakly and falter from there.

On Wednesday’s edition of MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Psaki derided the film with a lengthy rundown of poor presales and bad buzz, and called it a bellwether for the unpopularity of ICE:

PSAKI: OK, listen, I know we`re all watching everything that`s happening in Minneapolis and Minnesota right now. We`re going to cover so much of it tonight, but I can`t stop thinking about the fact that two things can be true at the same time. The first truth is that the people of Minnesota have done something incredible. I mean, the neighbors, the church leaders, the members of the community that have braved subzero temperatures.

You just saw how cold Chris was from standing outside for an hour. And people have been outside for hours protesting, even under the threat of pepper spray and even violence. They`ve been standing outside and making absolutely clear that they were not going to stand for the continuation of the lawless and cruel operations led by Greg Bovino.

I mean, the people of Minnesota, unquestionably, I`ve been watching in politics, watching politics for a very long time. They pulled off something incredible. The people of Minnesota made Donald Trump blink. That little angry, cruel henchman of his is now on his way out of their state, on his way to early retirement. Greg Bovino, of course, that is.

And that level of activism and commitment is in my view probably the best display of humanity we have seen since Donald Trump was inaugurated in the face of a massive tragedy. And yes, the people of Minnesota were back at it today protesting outside of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis. You can see them there tirelessly protesting.

And yes, they were celebrating Greg Bovino`s departure as they should. But they were also demanding that ICE leave their state once and for all.

Which brings me to the second truth. And that is, and I hate that this is true, but it is true. This fight isn`t over yet. Just listen to Governor Tim Walz earlier today and what he had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: I understand Greg Bovino is gone, you know, and that`s a good riddance one, but it doesn`t change the fact that the posture is still the same. That this is a unorganized, untrained, dangerous force on the streets that has nothing to do with either immigration or law enforcement. So, I`ll tell you today is, there`s — there`s a bit of optimism, but there`s such a sense of resolve.

And I would say this is the Minnesota kind of attitude. A lot of folks think winter`s over in March. Minnesotans don`t let their guard down until May. And I`m telling you, these folks that are out there on the streets, they`re very skeptical and rightfully so.

So, the mood is there`s a hint of hope and optimism, but there is a resolve that says, you know, the end of this is not Greg Bovino leaving. The end of this is a sane policy on how you do immigration reform and stop an attack by the federal government on a state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: So maybe it’ss February, March based on Governor Walz’s analogy there, but we need to get to May. Yes, Greg Bovino is gone. That`s a good thing. Very good thing.

And his departure is also supposed to be accompanied by a reduction in homeland security officers patrolling the streets of Minneapolis. We will see, but that`s another win.

But as you just heard Governor Walz say, we are not at the end. I mean, for starters, the man Trump decided to replace Bovino with in Minneapolis is border czar Tom Homan. And I’m betting you know exactly who Tom Homan is. There he is on your screen.

But just to refresh on the specifics, because I did this myself over the last hours, during Trump`s first term, Homan was the architect of Trump’s cruel and inhumane policy of separating children from their parents at the border, many of whom still have not been reunited to this day. In Trump’s second administration, Homan openly defended defying a judge`s order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador, saying, “I don`t care what the judges think.”

During a speech in April in Arizona, he said, “If you’re in this country illegally, you should be looking over your shoulder.” Of course, Homan is also the Trump administration official who reportedly took a $50,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent. A literal bundle of cash stuff in a bag from the fast casual restaurant Cava. Very smooth on Tom Homan’s part, I will say.

And he claims he did nothing illegal there. Unless anyone thinks that despite all of that, Tom Homan will somehow be the guy to change the way ICE agents in Minneapolis treat protesters, here`s what Tom Homan said about those ICE protesters just earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR One thing I’m pushing for right now, Laura, we’re going to create a database where those people that are arrested for interference, impeachment, assault, we’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on TV. We`re going to let their employers in their neighborhoods and their schools know who these people are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PSAKI: So that’s the guy you just saw there who`s going into Minnesota to tone things down. And yet, despite all of that, Republican members of Congress are happy to jump on that narrative and act like this is going to solve everything.

Watch above via MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!