President Biden reprimanded Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove during a rare press conference in Italy after Wingrove asked a question that shifted the topic from Ukraine to U.S. efforts in the Israel-Gaza war.
“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 another subject. I’ll be happy to answer in detail later, but the bottom line is that we made an agreement [in regard to Gaza],” Biden responded.
Biden holds a VERY RARE, highly scripted "press conference" — then scolds the press for asking him a question: "I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit"
ATTACK ON THE FREE PRESS! DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS! DISGUSTING! pic.twitter.com/RX6RRA0h9S
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2024
Now, the White House Correspondents Association has fired back at Biden saying, essentially, they can ask whichever questions they please.
“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 statement read. “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.”
It continued, “Any leader may prefer that reporters ask only one question or ask only about a topic that is of most interest to the president or another world leader, 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.”
Biden’s press conferences are often highly scripted with reporters and questions selected ahead of time in order to avoid Biden being caught off guard.
More over at Fox News:
White House correspondents fire back after Biden snaps at reporter for refusing to 'play by the rules' https://t.co/8a4l1TCsIj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 14, 2024