The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) issued a critical response to President Joe Biden's whining about reporters not playing by "the rules" by asking questions the commander-in-chief doesn't want to answer.
In a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, Biden was asked questions about his son Hunter being found guilty and a potential deal with Hamas. A tired-looking Biden snapped back: "I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit. I'm here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine — you're asking me about another subject," Biden said.
Watch:
Biden was NOT happy when a reported asked him about a potential deal with Hamas during his joint presser with Zelensky:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 13, 2024
"I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit. I'm here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine. You're asking me about another subject." pic.twitter.com/jhxgQyBPM5
The accidental admission that Biden can't handle more than one topic at once did not go unanswered by the association to which reporters covering the White House belong.
"The White House Correspondents' Association believes it is in the public interest to make clear that at a presidential press conference, at home or abroad, there are no preconditions regarding question topics," the WHCA statement explained. "While the White House does determine the number of reporters the president will recognize, it is up to professional journalists to decide what to ask."
Further repudiating Biden's assertion that there are "rules" reporters are supposed to follow — namely only asking questions on the topic of Biden's choosing — the WHCA statement noted "[a]ny leader may prefer that reporters ask only one question or ask only about a topic that is of most interest to the president...but a free press functions independently."
"WHCA would welcome more opportunities to pose a range of questions to the president in a press conference setting," the statement concluded, a not-so-subtle jab at the lack of presidential access granted to the press by Biden's handlers.
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