Biden bizarrely admits he'll 'get in trouble' with staffers if he doesn't call on pre-approved reporters in latest gaffe
JOE Biden told reporters that he would "get in trouble" if he didn't call on pre-approved journalists during a G7 press conference on Sunday.
The US president indicated he would receive a telling off from his staffers if he didn't take questions from a list of pre-approved reporters at the end of the summit in the UK.
Read our Joe Biden press conference live blog for the latest news and updates…
After calling on Bloomberg News reporter Jennifer Jacobs, Biden said: "I’m sorry, I’m going to get in trouble with staff if I don’t do this the right way."
During the Q&A part of the conference, Biden said he was supposed to go to Associated Press journalist Jonathan Lemire, noting: "I’m supposed to talk — recognize you first."
At the end of the briefing, when Biden was quizzed about the United States' European allies, he again said: “I’m going to get in trouble with my staff.
"Yeah, go ahead. But pretend that I didn’t answer you."
Asked about the steel and aluminum sanctions imposed by the former Trump administration and his plans for them, he declared: "A hundred and twenty days. Give me a break. Need time."
The news comes after Biden told journalists that he's "not supposed to be answering all these questions" when he was pressed about his infrastructure plan back in May as he left the podium.
The strange exchange came at the close of a press briefing from the White House.
It happened less than a week after press secretary Jen Psaki admitted she tells Biden not to answer impromptu questions.
Speaking on a podcast with David Axelrod in May, Psaki said: “He takes questions nearly every day he’s out from the press. That is not something we recommend.
"In fact, a lot of times we say ‘Don’t take questions,’ you know, but he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president.
"We’re never going to satisfy the White House press corps and their desires for access. And I think there have been mistakes made in the past of trying to do that."
During the same interview, Psaki recalled the moment she thought she would be fired after Biden once took questions from pool reporters three times in a day.
She said: "The first time I traveled with him, he took questions from the pool three times that day, and I thought, 'Am I going to get fired when I get back.
"So, he does do that and he likes doing that. I mean, the thing is, he likes the press corps and likes that back-and-forth engagement."
Back in March, Biden accidentally said "president Harris" in reference to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The following month, he Biden mistakenly said "saloon" when talking about hair salons in another media gaffe.
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