Psaki: ‘If’ Biden Had Concerns about Safety of Athletes in China, ‘We Would Work with’ U.S. Olympic Committee

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that “If” President Joe Biden had concerns about the safety of American athletes competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, “we would work with the U.S. Olympic Committee to address that.”

Co-host Dana Perino asked, “So, yesterday, when the president said that about minor incursion, you could imagine that everyone in Beijing was thinking, hmm, when it comes to Taiwan. And I wonder about that message, right, how it will spread even further, but also curious about the Olympics. Does the president have any concern about the well-being and safety of American athletes as they head to China in this very tumultuous time?”

Psaki responded, “If he did, we would work with the U.S. Olympic Committee to address that. I will tell you, Dana, that we made a very — the president made a very clear decision about not sending a diplomatic delegation. Obviously, that wasn’t for security purposes. That was sending a clear message about human rights and our concerns about the treatment of Uyghurs. However, we work closely with the U.S. Olympic Committee. The athletes are going. The president’s looking forward to cheering. I’m a bit Olympics-obsessed myself and I’m looking forward to cheering for them as well from home.”

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