President Joe Biden is telling reporters he is not supposed to be answering all of their questions.
When asked by a reporter about his meeting with congressional leaders on Wednesday to discuss infrastructure, Biden replied, “You guys are bad, I’m not supposed to be answering all these questions, I’m supposed to leave. I can’t resist your questions.”
Biden walked away as another reporter asked him if Americans should be worried about inflation.
Watch the video below:
President Biden goes to leave the lectern after a press conference but comes back, "I'm not supposed to be answering all these questions. I'm supposed to leave."
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 12, 2021
At the end, Biden does walk away from a question about Americans' concerns over rising inflation. pic.twitter.com/VykilNtjMI
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden answers to reporters “nearly every day.”
“That is not something we recommend. In fact, a lot of times we say ‘Don’t take questions. But he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president of the United States,” she said.
The administration’s communications team monitors not only Biden’s remarks to reporters, but those of other officials as the White House reportedly requires journalists to send quotes to them before going to print, as IJR reported.
Politico cited five reporters who cover the White House claiming the administration demands interviews with Biden officials be conducted on grounds known as “background with quote approval.”
Psaki said in a statement, “We would welcome any outlet banning the use of anonymous background quotes that attack people personally or speak to internal processes from people who don’t even work in the Administration.”
She added, “At the same time, we make policy experts available in a range of formats to ensure context and substantive detail is available for stories. If outlets are not comfortable with that attribution for those officials they of course don’t need to utilize those voices.”
According to several reporters, the Obama administration also employed the process. They indicated the Trump administration did not use the method as often as Biden.