Jen Psaki forced to edit book after making misleading claim about Biden not checking watch at ceremony

Psaki’s initial claim contradicted photos, accounts of Gold Star families

MSNBC host Jen Psaki said she will alter future reprints of her book after being called out for downplaying President Biden looking at his watch during a 2021 ceremony for U.S. service members who were killed in Afghanistan. 

Psaki, who was Biden's White House press secretary before joining MSNBC, initially claimed in her new book, "Say More," that Biden never looked at his watch "during the ceremony." But a report by Axios noted that Psaki’s version contradicted pictures and Gold Star families' firsthand accounts.

Psaki, who initially declined comment, changed her tune after online backlash and told Axios "the detail in a few lines of the book about the exact number of times he looked at his watch will be removed in future reprints and the eBook." 

The soon-to-be removed version of Psaki’s book claimed "the president looked at his watch only after the ceremony had ended," and the MSNBC star insisted Biden’s critics misrepresented the facts to make Biden appear insensitive. However, Gold Star families have long said they saw Biden check his watch multiple times during the dignified transfer ceremony. 

President Joe Biden looks down alongside First Lady Jill Biden as they attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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Psaki says she told Biden that bringing up his personal experience with family deaths to grieving military family members was insensitive.

"The story on Afghanistan is really about the importance of delivering feedback even when it is difficult, told through my own experience of telling President Biden that his own story of loss was not well received by the families who were grieving their sons and daughters," Psaki told Fox News Digital when asked for additional comment. 

In 2021, USA Today issued a correction on a "fact check" of the incident after initially claiming Biden only checked his watch when the ceremony was over. USA Today took heat for suggesting the Gold Star families who alleged they saw Biden check his watch multiple times during the dignified transfer ceremony had lied, and the paper issued a correction. 

USA TODAY ISSUES CORRECTION ON 'FACT CHECK' AFTER CLAIMING BIDEN CHECKED WATCH 'ONLY AFTER CEREMONY' AT DOVER

MSNBC host Jen Psaki served as White House press secretary during the Biden administration’s early stages. 

"Corrections & Clarifications: This story was updated Sept. 2 to note that Biden checked his watch multiple times at the dignified transfer event, including during the ceremony itself," the correction read. 

Psaki also mistakenly cited a Washington Post passage to bolster her account, Axios reported, when the sentences she cited actually came from USA Today.

The book, "Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World," hit stores last week. Psaki, who joined MSNBC in May 2022 and has continued to be a reliable Biden supporter, was blasted by conservatives on social media.

Psaki joined MSNBC after a bidding war for her services between the left-leaning cable outlet and CNN.

She has been defensive about her past work for Biden, objecting to comparisons between her and ex-Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel during the latter's brief tenure as an NBC News analyst.