President Biden is getting mocked for admitting the truth this Wednesday at his press conference when he called on reporters from a prepared list.
“I’ll accept questions, and as normal, they gave me the list of people I will call on., Biden told the press after his highly anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those in attendance wondered if “they” referred to his communications group.
“How is this okay?” asked Republican Congressman Greg Steube of Florida.
How is this acceptable? https://t.co/zpiIUFr8Mt
— Congressman Greg Steube (@RepGregSteube) June 16, 2021
“Embarrassing., Steve Guest, special advisor for communications for Republican Senator Ted Cruz, Texas, said on Twitter.
Embarrassing https://t.co/bdEOEhgaIq
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) June 16, 2021
Social media posters agreed with the idea that Biden had mentioned something he wasn’t supposed to.
“They won’t allow him to accept questions from people who aren’t Democrat activists., another user said.
They won’t let him take questions from anyone other than Democrat activists in the media https://t.co/oS91E1UVRm
— John Lilic ₿ Ξ ∞ (@JohnLilic) June 16, 2021
Fox News reporter Joe Concha compared Biden’s words with Putin’s earlier conference, which lasted more than an hour and showed “no signs of stopping.”
Putin presser approaching one hour with no signs of stopping. This is what Putin sees as show of confidence and endurance in what appears to be an effort to make Biden look weak/small when he ends up taking relatively few questions from handpicked reporters before exiting.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) June 16, 2021
Biden has often been criticized for using lists for his press events. At his first conference back in January, most of the questions he accepted were from reporters who were chosen before hand by his staff.
“A White House staffer is calling on journalists by outlet and one at a time to ask President Biden a question, unlike President Trump who called on anyone he wanted., a reporter from Real Clear News said at the time.
Then in March, Biden was caught looking at a “cheat sheet” that seemed to show the photos and company names of journalists who went to his conference, some of whose photos were next to a circled number.
Biden has also gotten heat for not having more press conferences, something that White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded in her softball interview with CNN by saying Biden “accepts questions several times per week.” Psaki also admitted that she tells the president not to take impromptu questions.
Author: Scott Dowdy
