Trump’s lie about the New Orleans terrorist highlights this 'dangerous habit': Jen Psaki

After a terrorist rammed a truck into a crowd of people on New Orleans' Bourbon Street, President-elect Donald Trump quickly used the attack to justify his immigration agenda. One former White House official is urging Americans to expect more of that rhetoric over the next four years.

In a Saturday essay for MSNBC, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki (who is now a host on the network) noted that after Trump's false claim that the man behind the deadly attack that killed 14 people and injured dozens of others was an undocumented immigrant, his top allies repeated the lie on multiple occasions before it was eventually debunked. And even though Fox News fact-checked the president-elect's claim, Psaki pointed out that incoming National Security Advisor Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) is "still exploiting this tragedy to push for confirmations of Trump’s national security picks — including himself — 'on day one.'"

"Here’s the truth: The New Orleans attacker was a U.S. citizen, born in the United States, and an Army veteran," Psaki wrote. "Yet Johnson and others continued to echo this claim on Fox well after the network corrected itself."

READ MORE: Fox News forced to fact-check Trump after reading his statement on New Orleans attacker

"This focus on the border is a distraction from the real questions that need to be asked," she added. "What radicalized a U.S. citizen to commit such a horrific crime? Trump will be president in just 16 days, and this week highlights his dangerous habit of prioritizing political narratives over actual threats."

42 year-old Army veteran Texas resident Shamsud din-Jabbar was behind the wheel of the truck when he carried out his attack, and investigators suspect he was motivated by the ideology of ISIS, whose flag was mounted on the back of the truck. While Fox News initially claimed the truck was seen crossing the Southern border with Mexico, police later revealed that the truck didn't belong to the attacker, but was rented on the Turo app.

Also on New Years' Day, Special Forces veteran Matthew Livelsberger detonated a Tesla Cybertruck outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, injuring seven people. His uncle told the Independent that Livelsberger was a "Rambo type" who "loved Trump" and described the Green Beret and Bronze Star recipient as a "patriotic American."

Click here to read Psaki's essay in full.

READ MORE: (Opinion) Trump is using the NOLA tragedy to hide his bait and switch