White House reporters shed some light on staffers preventing them from asking President Joe Biden questions after events on Wednesday, especially with the midterm elections approaching.
One clip of Biden’s meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog received traction on social media after the sound of staffers shutting down questions from reporters could be heard in the background. The president remained seated and didn’t answer any questions.
Other events from the day included a statement at the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus and a meeting in the State Dining Room with military leaders, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley.
“Quite the commotion at the White House earlier as Joe Biden’s handlers chased the press out of the room during his meeting with the Israeli president,” tweeted strategist Greg Price.
Quite the commotion at the White House earlier as Joe Biden’s handlers chased the press out of the room during his meeting with the Israeli president… pic.twitter.com/QopmXEPey1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 26, 2022
“The Biden WH seems *particularly intent* on the press not asking any [questions] of POTUS 14 days out from the midterms, [with] WH aides screaming in the faces of reporters who try to ask Biden [questions] following each event today,” reporter Nancy Cook tweeted Wednesday.
The Biden WH seems *particularly intent* on the press not asking any q’s of POTUS 14 days out from the midterms, w/WH aides screaming in the faces of reporters who try to ask Biden q’s following each event today.
— Nancy Cook (@nancook) October 26, 2022
WATCH: BIDEN CLAIMS DEMOCRATS ‘HAVE A GREAT RECORD’ ON CRIME AHEAD OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took a question on the matter during her press briefing Wednesday, claiming she “duly noted” the reporters’ desires to ask questions.
“But the president took questions,” Jean-Pierre said. “He literally took questions while he was getting a needle in his arm yesterday in getting the new vaccine. So he certainly takes questions from all of you, and he … does it often.”
“This is a president who has not … shied away from taking questions from all of you,” Jean-Pierre continued when pushed by the reporter. “I think he’ll continue to do that almost every day.”
Biden called the pandemic a “global health emergency” while getting his fifth shot against the virus and blamed Republicans for halting COVID-19 funds in Congress when asked about the schools that haven’t spent the funds.
“We have to keep up the fight together,” Biden said, directing his comments at “friends in Congress” who say “there’s really no reason that the government should be paying for it.”
Over the weekend, a reporter stopped the president during an outdoor walk to ask, “Ahead of these midterms, how big of an issue is crime?”
“I think it’s a real issue,” Biden responded. “And I think we have a great record on it.”
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A recent Harvard-Harris poll showed that 64% of voters find the rise in crime to be the fault of “woke politicians,” with less than a third of respondents saying the country is “on the right track.”
