Psaki: Biden Agrees with Milley on ‘White Rage’ and ‘Agrees That This Should Be a Part of What We Should Make Sure Kids Understand’

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that she is “sure” President Joe Biden agrees with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley’s comments about wanting to understand “white rage” and that Biden “agrees that this should be a part of what we should make sure kids understand and learn in their classrooms about our history, the good, the bad, the ugly, all of it.”

Psaki said, “I thought they were hugely powerful and hugely powerful from him, right? And, look, as a white woman myself, I think it’s important for us all to be self-reflective about what we’re teaching our children and how we’re engaging with the next generation and acknowledge that we have some dark history in our country. Racism still exists. There’s a dark history of slavery in our country and it’s important our kids know about that. That’s something the president also feels. And I think Gen. Milley made a really compelling case that it’s important for us to be self-reflective even as we’re saying the right thing. We’ve got to do more than that in this case and not allow this to be a political issue. It’s outrageous actually that it’s become a political issue. I think about what I want my kids to learn, my 5-year-old, my 3-year-old, and I want them to know about our history, including the dark and really challenging and difficult parts of our history, too.”

Psaki added that she’s “sure” Biden is “aware” of Milley’s comments “and agrees with them and agrees that this should be a part of what we should make sure kids understand and learn in their classrooms about our history, the good, the bad, the ugly, all of it. That’s a part of what can prepare the next generation. But I don’t know if anybody could have watched that — I know some people did, some Republican senators, but it was hard to have watched that, Nicolle, and not thought it was powerful, not thought it was incredibly compelling, and it really struck through what is a really absurd political argument happening right now.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett