President Joe Biden stoked further health concerns with a long, thousand-yard stare after joking that he would “get in trouble” if he answered questions from media members.
The president was wrapping up the launch of a task force to lower the cost of living when he declined to answer questions from the White House press corps.
‘I have a lot of questions. I better not start with the questions. I’m going to get in trouble,” the 81-year-old Biden said, picking up the microphone only halfway through.
Biden then put down the microphone and stood like a deer in headlights for about fifteen seconds as reporters shouted questions at him.
Joe Biden sparked further health concerns with long, thousand-yard stare after joking he’d ‘get in trouble’ if he asked questions
Then the president muttered something that was inaudible without amplification as everyone left the room.
Hours later, his inevitable election opponent Donald Trump, 77, delivered an energetic 20-minute speech after winning 12 of 13 primaries on Super Tuesday.
The president also won all but one of the Democratic primaries, losing only American Samoa – which he also failed to win in 2020.
Biden made the same joke about not answering questions at least twice during his presidency, and on average gives fewer answers than most of his predecessors.
American presidents always have a tight schedule that can easily be derailed if events run late because they answer too many questions, or answer no questions at all, frustrating their staffs who try to keep things moving.
Presidents also regularly use it as a lighthearted excuse not to ask questions when they want to avoid topics that are likely to come up.
Biden short-changed reporters during a 2021 G7 summit press conference by blaming his staff.
“Why don’t I answer some of your questions?” he said at the end of his remarks.
After answering a question from the Associated Press about his plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin, he turned to a Bloomberg reporter for his second question.
“I’m sorry, I’m going to get in trouble with the staff if I don’t do this the right way,” he said, before calling on Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs.
Hours later, Biden’s inevitable election opponent Donald Trump, 77, delivered an energetic 20-minute speech after winning 12 of the 13 primaries on Super Tuesday.
He answered further questions from Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and, lastly, NBC News.
But as he started to walk away, more questions were shouted at him.
“I’m going to have problems with my staff,” he said, turning back to the press. ‘Yes go ahead. But I can pretend I didn’t answer you.”
The same year, Biden answered several questions during a Covid vaccination update before joking that he should have already left.
‘You guys are bad. I’m not supposed to answer all these questions. “I have to go, but I can’t resist your questions,” he said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had a habit of sticking around for questions when he wasn’t supposed to.
“He answers questions almost every day he’s out of the press. That’s not something we recommend,” she said.
“In fact, we often say, ‘Don’t answer questions.’ But he’s going to do what he wants to do because he’s the president of the United States.”
Then Vice President Joe Biden stumbles as he walks onto the stage to deliver a speech at Paddington Town Hall in Sydney on July 20, 2016.
Trump has taken to dancing on stage at his rallies, which, combined with his bombastic personality and the fact that he looks younger through fake tan and hair dye, has helped him avoid criticism for his many blunders.
Biden has a long history of blunders, but questions about his age and mental stamina have persisted over the past three weeks following a special counsel report on his handling of classified documents.
The report does not recommend charges against Biden for potentially withholding classified documents, in part because a jury would see him as “a likable, well-meaning older man with a poor memory.”
The president held a news conference Thursday to dispute the report, but made matters worse by confusing Mexico and Egypt.
Trump has his own long list of blunders that should alarm his supporters, including confusing the names of people and places and appearing physically weak.
But rather than undermine his appeal, they appear to be increasing it, or at least ignoring it, as very few of his supporters say his age concerns them.
An Ipsos poll last week found that 86 percent of American voters thought Biden is too old for another term and 59 percent said both Biden and Trump were too old.