White House press secretary Jen Psaki is taking a break from her duties at the same time as controversy surrounds the silence of President Joe Biden, who is on vacation while the Taliban quickly seizes control of Afghanistan.
According to Fox News, they sent questions to Psaki’s White House email address Sunday morning and received an auto-reply. Hours later, on Sunday evening, Fox News attempted once again to reach the White House spokeswoman. The same auto-reply, stating that the voice of the White House would not be available for the next week, was sent.
“I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd,” the auto-reply email being sent to reporters reads.
To confirm Fox reporting –
We asked Biden Press Secretary Jen Psaki for comment about Afghanistan.
Here the actual automated response: “I will be out of the office from August 15th-August 22nd.” pic.twitter.com/PCi8gDqhwL
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) August 16, 2021
The request for comment included questions about when Biden plans to address the situation in Afghanistan and take questions from the media.
The automatic response did include information about reaching other members of the press shop for comment. The Washington Examiner reached out to them as well.
Still, the automatic email reply from Biden’s leading connection to the media is sure to add to the firestorm centered on Biden’s relative absence as the U.S.-backed Afghan government falls.
Biden has been at Camp David in Maryland, where he has been receiving updates from top U.S. officials but is also not accessible to reporters. His absence has prompted criticism among Republicans.
Biden has remained mostly silent on the issue, a fact not lost on many of the president’s critics.
“Where is Joe Biden,” asked Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, asked on Twitter as the crisis unfolded Sunday.
Meanwhile, the White House has only broken its silence to share a picture of the president being briefed on the situation by senior officials.
“This morning, the President and Vice President met with their national security team and senior officials to hear updates on the drawdown of our civilian personnel in Afghanistan, evacuations of SIV applicants and other Afghan allies, and the ongoing security situation in Kabul,” the White House posted on Twitter.
This morning, the President and Vice President met with their national security team and senior officials to hear updates on the draw down of our civilian personnel in Afghanistan, evacuations of SIV applicants and other Afghan allies, and the ongoing security situation in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/U7IpK3Hyj8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 15, 2021
Afghanistan’s new de facto leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar issued a victory message to his fellow Taliban on the declaration of the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” on Sunday.
Mullah Baradar’s statement was given from the presidential palace in Kabul.
“We have achieved an unexpected victory,” he said. “Now is the time to test, to show how we serve our people and ensure their future in the best possible way.”
Sources: The Gateway Pundit, Yahoo News, Fox News