A reporter was silent after pushing right-wing talking points during the White House’s daily press briefing and being asked to explain her question. The Q&A was so disturbing one well-known political scientist weighed in on social media to declare the White House press corps an “embarrassment.”

“Just a quick question on inflation,” the unnamed reporter began as she asked her question on the administration’s plan to strengthen the social safety net and grow jobs. “Many believe that government spending is a big factor in the current inflation levels. Can you speak to concerns that spending plans that come out of Build Back Better aren’t paid for, and so could mean higher deficits and more inflation in the future.”

Psaki, a little stunned, confirmed she heard correctly: “Aren’t paid for? Build Back Better is paid for.”

The reporter was silent. As time moved on, so did Psaki.

“Entirely,” she added, definitively.

“Okay,” replied the reporter, apparently out of facts and with little understanding of what she was asking. “Can you speak to the concerns that are coming in that it’s not, actually?”

“Who are the concerns from though?” Psaki asked.

Silence again.

“Who’s saying it’s not paid for?” Psaki pressed.

More silence.

“Because there have been a range of economists saying it’s entirely paid for, and that has been a priority for the President. It has also been concluded by a number of Nobel laureates and experts from a range of economic experts on the outside that it will not contribute to inflation. So those are the global experts that we would point to, but there may be others suggesting something else, but I don’t know who those people are,” she said, allowing the reporter to offer a different response, to possibly retain her dignity.

“So if those bills do pass it will not raise taxes?” the reporter asked, which is an entirely different question.

“Well, something being entirely paid for means that part of that is the highest income Americans highest that companies would be asked to pay a little bit more. That has been part of the proposal and part of reforming the tax system to make it more fair,” Psaki explained.

“So they’re also not expected to contribute to future inflation, then?”

“The Build Back Better Bill? Again, it’s fully paid for, we would point to Nobel laureates and a range of global economists who have conveyed that it would not contribute to inflationary pressures.”

Watch:

Reporter: Can you speak to concerns that spending plans that come out of BBB aren’t paid for…
Psaki: BBB is paid for
Reporter: Can you speak to the concerns
Psaki: Who are the concerns from though?
Reporter: *silence* pic.twitter.com/PtoEpDXetZ

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 26, 2022

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was likened on CNN Friday to a Game of Thrones character who took to calling himself “Reek” after having his penis amputated during extensive torture.

CNN’s Brianna Keilar reported on Cruz groveling before Fox News personality Tucker Carlson after describing Jan. 6 as a terrorist attack.

“Straightforward, nothing crazy about that comment, Ted Cruz just saying what is,” Keilar noted.

But Cruz apologized to the Fox personality on-air.

WATCH: ‘I can’t say it with a straight face’: Morning Joe hilariously busts Lindsey Graham’s multiple personalities

Keilar discussed the series of events with co-host John Berman.

“Can I just say one more thing about Ted Cruz there,” Berman said. “It’s like 7:28 a.m. — Ted Cruz, do you know where your spine is?”

“I thought he handled it better in ‘Game of Thrones’ when he was Theon Grayjoy to Ramsey Bolton, there,” he continued. “Honestly, that was like Reek, it was like the same as watching Reek in ‘Game of Thrones’ there, how he was addressing him. The power structure there.”

“Did you just call him Reek?” Keilar said. “That is such an apt metaphor.”

“Well, if the shoe fits or the codpiece fits,” Berman replied..

“I don’t know. I think that, you know, Tucker Carlson will be picking his teeth this morning with Ted Cruz’s spine, is sort of what I think,” Keilar said.

Watch:

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday was forced to once again explain basic concepts to Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy.

On Monday Doocy insisted on trying to make foreign policy from the press briefing room, strongly suggesting that if President Biden would just pick up a telephone he could obtain from China massive amounts of data on the origins of the novel coronavirus. He also insisted the U.S. should bypass the World Health Organization’s investigation.

“I think you’re misunderstanding how this process actually works,” Psaki had to tell Doocy. “First of all, we need access to the underlying data and information in order to have that investigation.”

Central to his argument is a right wing theory that the coronavirus was either created in a lab in Wuhan, China, or that it “escaped” from that lab, or as Doocy claimed today, both.

“Does the President think these theories we hear more about now, that COVID-19 may have been manmade and escaped from a lab in China are a wacky conspiracy theory or based on what he has heard and been briefed on does he think that’s possible?” Doocy asked.

Putting her school teacher hat on once again, Psaki politely accommodated him while explaining how facts are determined.

“Well, we went through this journey together yesterday so let’s do it again,” Psaki replied. “So, the President believes there needs to be an independent investigation, one that’s run by the international community, it’s an international pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world. He believes the Chinese need to do more to put forward data to be more transparent and in the second phase of this effort, he’s certainly hopeful that will be the case. And he believes that every theory should be explored through that process, but that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions before that data and that information is made available.”

Watch:

Psaki: Well, we went through this journey together yesterday so let’s do it again pic.twitter.com/jBwSHaF4KL

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 25, 2021

Related:

Jen Psaki Buries Fox News’ Peter Doocy: Trying to ‘Disprove a Negative’ Is ‘Never the Responsible Approach’

Peter Doocy Mocks President Biden for Wearing a Mask at Ford Plant – Forcing Fox News to Admit They Don’t Know Local Rules

‘Vaccines Work’: Jen Psaki Brilliantly Smacks Down Fox News Reporter Suggesting New CDC Mask Guidance Is ‘Political’