President Joe Biden was taking reporters’ questions when he was interrupted not by an aide dressed as the Easter Bunny, but by the first lady.
Before departing the White House for a weekend trip to Delaware, Biden stopped to take some questions from reporters.
However, as he spoke, First Lady Jill Biden interrupted to try to get him to stay on schedule.
“We gotta go!” she said.
The first lady could then be seen tugging on the president’s arm to get him to walk away from the press.
Watch the moment below:
"We gotta go!" Jill Biden tries to pull Joe away from talking to reporters as they leave for a weekend at the beach. pic.twitter.com/GGn9r3eaGA
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 17, 2022
Eventually, he made his way to Marine One at a brisk pace.
When you realize you're late for the beach trip… pic.twitter.com/EcUYBfzDiO
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 17, 2022
It’s one thing to want to stick to the schedule.
But the repeated instances of Biden being interrupted while speaking to reporters and led away is kind of weird.
In April, he was speaking to reporters when an aide dressed in an Easter Bunny costume walked over, got his attention, and directed him to another location.
https://twitter.com/craigtdillon/status/1516087819185405956
And earlier this week, after an event at the White House, the president did not need someone to interrupt him because he just quickly walked past reporters while they shouted questions at him.
Joe Biden basically runs past reporters so he doesn't have to answer their questions pic.twitter.com/Z1n6VVhLL7
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 13, 2022
The White House reportedly wants to make Biden more visible in an attempt to help save his poll numbers. But apparently, that means just having him deliver prepared remarks and limiting the press access.
That’s probably because of the risk that he’ll deliver an awkward gaffe, make an apparent policy pronouncement that the staff needs to walk back, or he’ll share his sympathies for someone who “dropped dead.”
But, he is the president, and the American public deserves to hear answers from him that don’t just come in the form of a speech or a written statement.
Biden’s aides can try to form a protective bubble around him to try to crack down on moments that distract from their message, but eventually, it will just raise even more questions.