The downside of managing a President who is in his upper 70’s is that his memory might not be the greatest, and it can lead to gaffes. In the case of Joe Biden, fairly regular blunders, including his latest on Sunday at the end of the three-day summit of world leaders that are part of the G-7.
Biden let it slip that he is instructed to only take questions from an approved list of pre-planned reporters if he speaks to the media, and he explained that to the throng of press there to cover the final day’s events.
Here’s how it went down. Biden took a question from Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs and said this. “I’m sorry, I’m going to get in trouble with staff if I don’t do this the right way.”
Things got even more awkward when Biden told the media throng he was ready to take questions. He stuck to the script this time and called on a reporter he knew would lob him a nice safe softball question, Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press.
“Now, why don’t I take some of your questions? And I’m told, Jonathan, I’m supposed to talk — recognize you first.”
After the pseudo press conference concluded, Biden strolled away from the podium when Biden’s biggest fear came to life. An impromptu question from a reporter who wasn’t hand selected.
Uh Oh! The reported asked Biden about his relationship with European allies. Here’s what Biden said. “I’m going to get in trouble with my staff. Yeah, go ahead. But pretend that I didn’t answer you.”
The question required a nuanced response, but Biden wanted nothing to do with it. The reported asked why the steel and aluminum sanctions that the Trump administration imposed had not been reversed.
Biden responded with this; “A hundred and twenty days. Give me a break. Need time.”
He was referencing his time in office so far.
A month ago Biden got peppered with questions about the COVID vaccine and his big, multi-trillion dollar infrastructure plan. “I’m not supposed to be answering all these questions.”
For as much as the press hated Trump, he never hid or ducked from questions he didn’t want to hear and answered most thrown his way.
Add comment