President Joe Biden quipped this weekend that he would get “in trouble” with his staff if he took questions from reporters out of order during his press conference at the end of the three-day G-7 summit.
The White House plans ahead of time which reporters Biden will take questions from and what questions they are allowed to ask, according to several reports.
Biden confirmed on Sunday that if he broke from his staff’s pre-planned questions or took one too many, he’d hear about it afterwards.
“I’m sorry, I’m going to get in trouble with staff if I don’t do this the right way,” Biden said after calling on Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs.
Biden kicked off the presser by admitting he was supposed to go to Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press first.
“Now, why don’t I take some of your questions? And I’m told, Jonathan, I’m supposed to talk — recognize you first,” he said.
At the end of the news conference when a reporter asked about his relationship with European allies, Biden reiterated: “I’m going to get in trouble with my staff. Yeah, go ahead. But pretend that I didn’t answer you.”
Biden has made similar comments about his handlers before.
Last month, while he was answering questions from the press about the coronavirus vaccination effort and ongoing infrastructure talks with Congress, Biden said, “I’m not supposed to be answering all these questions.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has also admitted she doesn’t like Biden spending too much time with the media.
“He takes questions nearly every day he’s out from the press,” Psaki said last month. “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.”
