While on vacation during his remaining few days in the White House, President Joe Biden was asked about the recent Azerbaijan plane crash that left dozens dead. However, as Biden struggled to answer the impromptu question from the reporter, Hunter Biden, who recently received a sweeping pardon, appeared to beckon his father away from engaging with the press.
As background, Azerbaijan has accused Russia of shooting and downing the passenger plane, demanding an admission of guilt and compensation. As a result, Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized for the incident, but has not admitted fault. “Mr. President, should Putin take responsibility for the plane crash?” a reporter asked Biden.
Biden appeared to indicate that he could not hear the reporter, prompting her to restate the question. The president responded, “Apparently he did, but I haven’t spoken to him….” However, Biden appeared to be summoned toward his vehicle as he spoke to the reporter. Throughout his term, Biden has faced criticism from conservatives for failing to sufficiently engage with the press.
The American Tribune reported on another recent incident with the press in which footage showed White House staffers escorting reporters out of the room as someone appeared to be directing Biden away from them as well. Users on social reacted to the incident, interpreting the situation as another example of Biden having little to no engagement with the press. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson wrote, “WOW: Biden’s handlers remove him as he is attacked with questions from reporters he is too confused to answer.”
Others echoed this sentiment as well, calling out Vice President Kamala Harris too. ”First President that never takes questions from reporters. First VP Harris, now Presidential candidate that doesn’t do debates. I don’t call ABC debate one at all. All the demands Harris put on what they can and can’t do. She probably got the questions ahead of time.Not normal!” one person wrote.
Another person compared Biden’s seeming refrain from speaking extensively with the press to President-elect Donald Trump’s constant engagement with reporters. “Biden rarely answers questions after his rare press conferences. Trump did press conferences frequently and always answered questions. He was the most transparent president probably in American history,” they wrote.
The American Tribune reported on another instance involving President Biden recently in which he snapped a reporter who asked him an important question at the White House. Journalist Neira Kraus asked the president, “President Biden, do you think that you can get a hostage deal by the end of your term?” However, Biden fired back at Kraus, “Do you think that you can get hit in the head by the camera behind you?”
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Moreover, Kraus questioned White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the incident, asking if Biden was somehow “offended” by her question. “I can ask for an explanation. A couple of days ago, the President was asked whether he is confident that he could reach a cease fire before the end of his term, and he gave a somewhat flippant answer, if you can explain what he meant by that. Why did he respond the way he did? Was he offended by the question?” she said.
Kraus pressed KJP, “I know you haven’t spoken to him, but I mean, you know the president and you know his mood, so was he frustrated by the lack of progress?” Refusing to address the question head-on, KJP said, “It doesn’t matter how many times you ask me this question, I’m going to give you the same answer. The President is committed to getting a ceasefire deal.”
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.