Wednesday 14 September 2022 09:26 AM Jen Psaki makes first MSNBC appearance since hiring as she warns Trump will ... trends now

Former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has claimed Donald Trump running in 2024 could hand power to the Democrats during her first MSCNBC appearance since joining the network.

The ex-Joe Biden official, 43, appeared on last night's Alex Wagner Tonight in her first job since she was replaced by Karine Jean-Pierre in May, and said the former president would be an 'energizing factor' to voters.

The West Wing veteran, who also served in Barack Obama's administration, is serving as a political analyst for MSNBC for the midterms and the 2024 election, and will host her own show next year.

Her Democratic loyalties were immediately made clear on her debut show as she said Trump's campaign could be 'a reminder of what's at stake'. 

She said: 'Nothing's more of a driving and excitement factor like Donald Trump for Democrats. 

'They love to be opposed to him, because they are. Independents, many, don't want to see another reign of Trump, and the more he engages in the race, the more he puts himself out there, the more it's a reminder of what's at stake to people, and having Trump on the ballot is a hugely energizing factor in a lot of these races. 

Elsewhere, Psaki said Democrats have 'flipped' the narrative on the midterm elections, saying the momentum is with the party.

Wagner asked her: 'How do you think of these of these Midterms right now, sitting as we are 60 days out, we see this back and forth among Republicans on abortion, Lindsay Graham, Mitch McConnell, they're having a hard time with this.

'We talk a lot about abortion being an animating factor here... In these ways, these midterms may end up being a referendum on Republican power more so than Democratic power. Do you see it that way?'

Psaki replied: 'Absolutely. And that is remarkable if you think about it. If you look back on the NBC poll in January, Democrats were not that into the midterms. They just weren't that into it.

'They were not thinking they were going to participate as many, it's gone up by 20 percentage points almost, the excitement and enthusiasm for participating.

'That is largely related to Dobbs, largely related to women across the country, young women across the country and even men being scared of a woman's right to choose being taken away from them.'

The Supreme Court's controversial decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health has energized the left's base and sparked a wave of voter registrations, while their ruling in Roe v. Wade has also been a divisive issue that could cause a bigger turnout.

Psaki added: 'The other truth is that when you're the party in power, and I've sat in White Houses where you're the party in power, it's almost always a referendum. 

'People are looking at whether they're satisfied with how things are going in the country. That's hard to run as a referendum against you, it's much better when it's a choice.

'It's largely flipped now. The anger is among the members of the Democratic Party, which is the party in power, which is so rare for that to be the case.