Paski advises taking kickboxing, drinking a margarita to get over voting rights failure

White House press secretary Jen Psaki doled out some advice during an appearance on The View Friday on how Americans can get over the voting rights bill failing in the U.S. Senate.  

‘So my advice to everyone out there who’s frustrated, sad, angry, pissed off – feel these emotions, go to a kickboxing class, have a margarita, do whatever you need to do this weekend and then wake up on Monday morning, we’ve got to keep fighting,’ Psaki said.  

She noted that the ‘path forward’ is to simply ‘keep fighting,’ as the current make-up and rules of the Senate will continue to prevent voting rights bills from being passed.

‘Look, I think this week has been frustrating, devastating, angering – all of those things,’ Psaki said. 

She pointed out that a year ago there were more Democrats who were opposed to filibuster reform. 

On Wednesday, only two Democrats – moderate Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin – voted with Republicans to keep the current filibuster rules in place, where 60 votes are needed to end debate. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had proposed a ‘talking filibuster,’ where senators would have to hold the floor if they wanted to filibuster a bill and then once time ran out just a simple majority could vote to wrap up debate. 

Even that couldn’t keep the two moderates on board. 

‘But this is very frustrating, it’s infuriating that some people in the Senate, including the entire Republican caucus, won’t support people’s fundamental rights,’ Psaki said. ‘It’s also frustrating that when you talk about voter protections, which is something that everybody should have the right to, that some people are putting process ahead of that fundamental protection.’  

Psaki was also asked why President Joe Biden was surprised by Republicans’ ‘stalwart’ effort, as he put it at Wednesday’s press conference, to prevent him from getting anything done – as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made the same pledge when President Barack Obama came into office and Biden was vice president.

‘Well, believe it or not, it’s gotten worse – or you would believe it,’ Psaki answered. ‘It’s gotten worse since Trump.’ 

Psaki pointed to voting rights and noted that 16 Republicans in the Senate, including McConnell, have voted in the past to protect voting rights. 

‘So what has changed?’ Trump’s control over the party? The fear of Trump? You’ll have to ask Republicans in the Senate to explain why they were for protecting voting rights a few years ago but not now,’ Psaki said. 

‘He’s never been naive about the division among parties,’ Psaki said of the president. 

But she asked if Republicans are truly against voting rights, reducing the cost of childcare and lowering the prices of prescription drugs – the latter two provisions were contained in Biden’s Build Back Better act, which received no Republican support, but since it was going to be passed through reconciliation, got derailed by Manchin.

‘So that’s what I think the president was getting at, is that there’s almost an irrationality of it that has gotten worse,’ Psaki said.   

At Wednesday’s press conference the president said he would be willing to break up the Build Back Better bill into ‘chunks.’ 

Asked what that could look like by Joy Behar, the press secretary replied, ‘I need a cup of coffee Joy, I don’t know.’ 

‘Look, I think that there’s a lot of conversations happening with members,’ Psaki said. 

She added, ‘When the president says chunks he means like a mountain-sized chunk.’  

At the end of the interview, Behar asked Psaki if she still planned to leave the job sometime this year. 

‘I don’t know when I’m leaving. This is an honor and a privilege and I love working for President Obam-Biden,’ she said, almost slipping up and saying her ex-boss’ name. 

‘I love spending time with him, hearing what’s on his mind. Going on the road with him is actually the best thing possible, I wish everybody could have that experience, because he gets so much joy out of it,’ she continued. ‘No one likes a rope line more than President Biden.’ 

Psaki then pointed out that she has ‘two little kids,’ ages three and six. 

‘So I spend a lot of time here, it’s a joy,’ she said, as she had done the interview remotely from the White House. ‘But I’m also potty-training by 3-year-old, my 6-year-old is in kindergarten and I don’t want to miss things in their life either.’ 

‘I also think that this is a job where it will be time for a new face at a certain point in time,’ she added. ‘And I don’t know when that’s going to be.’