Instead, when asked something other than a softball, she has a tendency to either give a non-answer or just not answer it, something particularly frustrating when the question is about something important.
Such was the case on Monday, the 14th of March, when Psaki was asked what America’s endgame was in Ukraine. A reporter, asking her about that endgame, said (roughly, he was a bit hard to understand):
“You are not going there, you are not sending troops there, there will not be a no-flight zone…would it be a fair assessment to say that you’re pushing these guys to commit suicide knowing that Russia has a super power and will eventually capture the main cities, Kiev and Kharkiv and all the cities around there? What is the endgame?”
Psaki, responding to the question in her usual manner, said:
“Well, the endgame is really a question for President Putin. We have completely crushed his economy. We have provided military assistance, humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians, enabling them to fight far longer than the Russian leadership anticipated. And again, he has to determine what the path forward looks like for him.”
Then, with that, Psaki walks away from the podium. Watch that sorry spectacle (continued)