White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki is being asked about President Joe Biden’s tone during remarks defending the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden delivered what has been described as a “defiant” and “forceful” speech defending the withdrawal.
However, CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe asked Psaki about the president’s tone at the beginning of his remarks.
“He seemed angry at the beginning of the speech today,” he said, adding, “Who’s he mad at?”
Psaki responded, “I’ll give you a different assessment of what I saw, which is that he gave a forceful assessment, laid out a forceful case to the American people as to why it was time to wind down a 20-year war that has led to the loss of thousands of lives.”
“And in his view, and I think he made a firm case of this, it’s not in our national security interest to be on the ground anymore,” she added.
Watch the video below:
CBS News Senior WH Correspondent Ed O'Keefe asks WH Press Sec. Jen Psaki about Biden’s “mood” during Afghanistan speech today:
— The Recount (@therecount) August 31, 2021
“Who’s he mad at?” pic.twitter.com/RhMTkdTAeJ
The Washington Post notes that during the speech, Biden “sounded angry and frustrated at the decisions of the past and determined to move on, regardless.”
In his remarks, Biden said, “I was not going to extend this forever war, and I was not extending a forever exit.”
He claimed that the Aug. 31 deadline to complete the withdrawal from Afghanistan was an “arbitrary deadline. It was designed to save American lives.”
“The bottom line is that there is no evacuation from the end of a war that you can run without the kind of complexities, challenges, and threats that we faced. None,” Biden said as he addressed criticism of the execution of the withdrawal and evacuations.
He also criticized the Afghan security forces and government for collapsing in the face of Taliban advances while saying he takes responsibility for the execution of the withdrawal and hailing the effort to evacuate thousands of Americans and Afghans.