Jen Psaki may have just said one of the most revealing things I've heard from a former Democratic White House official in years.
The former Biden White House press secretary, who now hosts The Briefing with Jen Psaki on MS Now, was discussing Democrat primaries when she casually acknowledged how the system once worked:
"Party leadership really selected the nominees."
Jen Psaki admits on MSNBC that Democratic Party leadership used to “SELECT” the nominees, and nobody was allowed to say it out loud until now.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) August 12, 2026
PSAKI: “We both remember well when party leadership really selected the nominees.”
“Now, you would never say it that way exactly, but… pic.twitter.com/puZEN4FVvX
Psaki added that nobody would have described it quite so openly at the time.
Listen to and read her words again: Party leadership really selected the nominees.
Americans should hear that sentence everywhere because it comes from somebody who spent years inside Democratic politics, including senior communications jobs in the Obama and Biden administrations.
Psaki wasn't some outsider guessing about smoke-filled rooms; she worked in the rooms.
Bernie Sanders supporters learned a painful version of the lesson in 2016. Leaked internal emails exposed hostility toward Sanders inside the Democratic National Committee during his primary battle with Hillary Clinton.
The DNC eventually issued what it called a "deep and sincere apology" to Sanders and his supporters for the conduct revealed in those messages.
“On behalf of everyone at the DNC, we want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email. These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process. The DNC does not — and will not — tolerate disrespectful language exhibited toward our candidates. Individual staffers have also rightfully apologized for their comments, and the DNC is taking appropriate action to ensure it never happens again.
“We are embarking on a convention today that — thanks to the great efforts of Secretary Clinton, her team, Senator Sanders, his team, and the entire Democratic Party — will show a forward-thinking and optimistic vision for America, as compared to the dark and pessimistic vision that the GOP presented last week in Cleveland. Our focus is on electing Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats across the country, thanks to Democratic Party that is strong, unified, and poised for victory in November.”
Clinton still won more primary votes and pledged delegates, so I won't claim somebody secretly changed ballots to steal the nomination from Sanders. The documented problem was party neutrality.
Democrat officials themselves apologized after internal communications showed the supposedly neutral organization wasn't behaving very neutrally.
Then came 2024.
Joe Biden won the Democratic presidential primaries and dropped out in July. Democrat voters never received another presidential primary in which they could choose his replacement.
Kamala Harris became the only candidate who qualified for the DNC's virtual roll-call ballot after 3,923 delegates signed petitions supporting her.
A few days later, 4,567 delegates voted for Harris, giving her 99% support among participating delegates. She became the Democratic presidential nominee without ever winning a presidential primary for the job in 2024.
The next steps in the nominating process include the certification of the roll call by the Convention Secretary Jason Rae, and the acceptance of the nomination by Vice President Harris and her running mate, certified by DNCC Chair Minyon Moore. Delegates will then celebrate the nomination through a celebratory Roll Call at the in-person Convention, gaveled in by DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNCC Chair Minyon Moore.
Statement from DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and DNCC Chair Minyon Moore:
“With the support of 99% of all participating delegates in the virtual roll call, Vice President Harris has historic momentum at her back as we embark on the final steps in officially certifying her as our Party’s nominee. We thank the thousands of delegates from all across the country who took seriously their responsibility throughout this process to make their voices – and the voices of their communities – heard. As we prepare to certify the nomination alongside Convention Secretary Rae, we know that we are all a part of an important piece of history. Soon, it will be time to come together in Chicago, where we will celebrate together and make clear to the American people that the Democratic Party is the party of freedom, of democracy, of rights, and of the people.”
Now Psaki says party leaders once "really selected the nominees."
Maybe Democrats will argue she was merely describing an older political era when endorsements, donors, and party bosses carried greater influence.
Fine.
Her explanation still deserves attention because 2016 and 2024 make the subject anything but ancient history.
Democrats spent years presenting themselves as guardians of democracy while warning Americans that Republicans threatened voters' voices. Meanwhile, their own recent history contains a national party apologizing for misconduct toward one presidential candidate and later nominating another candidate whom Democrat primary voters never selected for president.
Psaki's sentence belongs outside the cable-news echo chamber.
Put it on television; put it online; yell it from the rooftops!
Democrat voters especially deserve to hear it because sometimes the most revealing political confession isn't dragged out under the oath.
Sometimes somebody vapid just says it out loud.
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