Biden caught with crib notes detailing reporter s question prior to calling on her during press conference
The officially marked card included the phrases ‘I hear you’, and ‘What would you most want me to know about your experience?’ and ‘What can we do to help you feel safe? and drew widespread criticism online, with many accusing him of feigning empathy.
Joe Biden relies on cue card for meeting with Rishi Sunak
US president Joe Biden reportedly relied on a cue card to help steer him through a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at No 10 on Monday.
A beady-eyed photographer spotted the card in Mr Biden’s hands, as he paid a brief visit to the UK, on Monday, ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania, on Tuesday.
The handwritten card featured five numbered bullet points, with the word ‘Nato’ underlined at the top in an apparent prompt for Mr Biden, according to a report by the Telegraph.
Beside the other numbered points were words including ‘Turkey’ and ‘F-16’ – the latter an apparent reference to the debate regarding whether the US and UK should send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to help in its fight-back against Russia.
It is not the first time a US president has shown an apparent penchant for cue cards.In 2020, when meeting with survivors and families of a shooting that killed 17 people at a high school in Florida, Donald Trump came under fire when he was seen clutching a card that clearly reminded him to offer sympathy.
The officially marked card included the phrases ‘I hear you’, and ‘What would you most want me to know about your experience?’ and ‘What can we do to help you feel safe? and drew widespread criticism online, with many accusing him of feigning empathy.
Mr Biden hailed the relationship between the US and UK as “rock solid” when he met Mr Sunak at No 10 on Monday, telling the prime minister he “couldn’t be meeting with a closer friend and greater ally”.
But their warm display came amid frictions between the US and UK, over issues including the speed at which Ukraine should become a Nato member, the US decision to supply it with controversial cluster munitions, Brexit, and Washington not supporting Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to be the military alliance’s next secretary general.
Biden caught with crib notes detailing reporter’s question prior to calling on her during press conference
Biden was informed of journalist’s question prior to calling on her, paper reveals
Reporter presses Biden on his age, unpopularity
President Biden on Wednesday was asked directly about concerns that he is too old and unpopular to run for re-election.
President Biden is no stranger to detailed cheat sheets when speaking to the press, but the president’s team seems to have taken things up a notch after he revealed a pre-written question from a reporter during Wednesday’s press conference.
As Biden spoke alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the White House Rose Garden, a photographer captured a small cheat-sheet in the president’s hand signaling he had advanced knowledge of a question from Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian. The small paper also included a picture of the reporter along with the pronunciation breakdown of her last name. “Question #1” was handwritten at the top of the sheet, indicating the president should call on her first at the conclusion of his remarks.
“How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?” read the question in Biden’s hand.
President Biden looks at a note card referencing a reporter as he delivers remarks during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The reporter, who was in fact called upon first but whose last name was omitted by the president, asked Biden, “Your top economic priority has been to build up U.S. domestic manufacturing in competition with China, but your rules against expanding chip manufacturing in China is hurting South Korean companies that rely heavily on Beijing. Are you damaging a key ally in the competition with China to help your domestic politics ahead of the election?”
A separate paper in Biden’s hand revealed the names of administration officials in the order of their remarks. Both cheat sheets were dated April 26, 2023.
President Biden responds to a question during a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the Rose Garden at the White House on Wednesday. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Biden has been ridiculed for relying on detailed cheat sheets in the past, with critics calling them an indication that the White House has lost faith in the 80-year-old commander in chief amid concerns about his mental acuity.
In March 2022, Biden displayed a list of prepared answers during a White House news briefing after his “this man cannot remain in power” comment about Russian President Vladimir Putin, which raised questions about his support for regime change in Russia.
In June, reporters captured a cheat sheet at a White House meeting with Cabinet members detailing specific instructions for the president.
“YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants,” the first bullet point read. “YOU take YOUR seat.”
President Biden held up a note card during remarks that included detailed directions such as, “YOU enter the Roosevelt Room and say hello to participants” and “YOU take YOUR seat.” (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
After a bullet point that said, “Press enters,” the next one read, “YOU give brief comments,” with a parenthetical statement reading, “2 minutes.” Biden ended up speaking for roughly eight minutes. The final bullet points read, “YOU thank participants” and “YOU depart.”
A month later, Biden accidentally revealed a note from an aide to the camera that informed the president that there was “something” on his chin.
Biden has also embraced the practice of relying on a predetermined list of reporters selected by his staff early in his tenure instead of calling on them spontaneously during exchanges with the press.
Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
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