President Joe Biden used scripted notecards and a pamphlet with photographs of the journalists in attendance during his first press conference on Thursday, photos showed.
Biden was looking down at a card that read “Infrastructure” and mentioned that the United States “ranks 13th in infrastructure quality,” that “China spends 3 times more” on projects, and that “more than 1/3 of our bridges (231,000) need repairs.”
The president was also pictured glancing at what appeared to be a page or book of journalists with attached headshots during the briefing, which took place on his 65th day in office. Some of the reporters had circled numbers next to their names.
People are criticizing President Biden for having headshots and names of reporters to call on at his press conference, and note cards with talking points printed on them. I actually prefer a President who is prepared and does his homework, and doesn’t riff and make things up. pic.twitter.com/1cXPTT6Q9U
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) March 26, 2021
BIDEN’S FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE DELIVERS HEAD-SCRATCHING MOMENTS AND AMMUNITION FOR REPUBLICANS
“Joe Biden had a cheat sheet with the names and faces marked of which journalists to call on, and he knew EXACTLY what questions would be asked of him,” conservative pundit Candace Owens tweeted. “That was not a press conference — that was a play put on by bad faith actors in a pseudo-democracy.
Joe Biden had a cheat sheet with the names and faces marked of which journalists to call on, and he knew EXACTLY what questions would be asked of him.
That was not a press conference—that was a play put on by bad faith actors in a pseudo-democracy. pic.twitter.com/ee56Xcg63M
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) March 26, 2021
“Joe Biden had nine days to prepare and he still needed a cheat sheet!” wrote Nick Adams, a conservative author.
Joe Biden had nine days to prepare and he still needed a cheat sheet! https://t.co/jbcPmKBzrQ
— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) March 26, 2021
Zeke Miller of the Associated Press was the first to be called on, and journalists from Fox News and the New York Times did not get to ask questions by the conclusion of the briefing.
“Why is the Biden Administration scared of taking questions from Fox News?” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican, asked in a Thursday tweet.
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Biden fielded questions on gun control, the border crisis, the filibuster, and voting rights.
