Following a rather contentious formal press conference with reporters in Geneva, President Biden again engaged with the media just before boarding Air Force One and bitterly complained that they weren’t being supportive enough of his foreign policy agenda. The exchange came shortly after Biden’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that seemed to accomplish little, if anything.
While the President took a few additional questions from reporters on the airport tarmac before heading back to Washington after his European trip, New York Times White House correspondent Michael Shear pressed him on a heated back and forth he had with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins earlier:
Mr. President, Kaitlan’s question that you answered at the very end there, that you came over to talk about. I think at the heart of it was this question of whether or not you seem overly optimistic given what we all listened to, President Putin essentially say the same old things that he said forever, you know, rejecting all responsibility for all that stuff. And I guess the question that she was trying to get to, and maybe you can take another stab at it, is what concrete evidence do you have from these three-plus hours that suggests that any movement has been made?
Given Biden’s previous harsh reaction to Collins, Shear felt compelled to add: “And I don’t mean that to be a – it’s not meant to be a gotcha question.”
The Democratic President actually whined that supportive liberal journalists were too “negative” and didn’t ask him any “positive” questions: “…look, to be a good reporter, you’ve got to be negative. You gotta have a negative view of life, okay, it seems to me. The way you all – you never ask a positive question.”
Biden proceeded to rant that the media was supposedly against him at every turn:
But what do you – the thing that always amazes me about the questions, and I apologize for having been short. If you were in my position, would you say, “Well, I don’t think, man, anything is going to happen, it’s going to be really rough. I think it’s going to really be bad”….There’s a value to being realistic and put on an optimistic front, an optimistic face. Look, you all said the same thing about the – you know, what was going to happen when we had the first meeting of the [G]7, “Oh, Biden, they’re not going to buy Biden’s stuff”….When I went to meet with NATO, “Oh, boy, they’re not going to be happy, they’re all going to be against Biden meeting with Putin, they’re not going to want that”….And the same way when I met with the EU, “He’s not going to like the way Biden is operating.”
According to Biden, the leftist media are not sycophantic enough for his liking.
Here is a transcript of the June 16 exchange as it aired on MSNBC:
2:24 PM ET
(…)
MICHAEL SHEAR [NEW YORK TIMES]: Mr. President, Kaitlan’s [Collins] question that you answered at the very end there, that you came over to talk about. I think at the heart of it was this question of whether or not you seem overly optimistic given what we all listened to, President Putin essentially say the same old things that he said forever, you know, rejecting all responsibility for all that stuff. And I guess the question that she was trying to get to, and maybe you can take another stab at it, is what concrete evidence do you have from these three-plus hours that suggests that any movement has been made? And I don’t mean that to be a – it’s not meant to be a gotcha question.
JOE BIDEN: I know, but you’re all – look, to be a good reporter, you’ve got to be negative. You gotta have a negative view of life, okay, it seems to me. The way you all – you never ask a positive question. Why, in fact, having agreement – we’ll find out. We have an agreement to work on a major arms control agreement. I started working on arms control agreements back all the way during the Cold War. If we can do one in the Cold War, why couldn’t we do one now? We’ll see. We will see whether or not it happens.
But what do you – the thing that always amazes me about the questions, and I apologize for having been short. If you were in my position, would you say, “Well, I don’t think, man, anything is going to happen, it’s going to be really rough. I think it’s going to really be bad.” You guarantee nothing happens. You guarantee nothing happens. So far –
SHEAR: So there’s a value to –
BIDEN: There’s a value to being realistic and put on an optimistic front, an optimistic face. Look, you all said the same thing about the – you know, what was going to happen when we had the first meeting of the [G]7, “Oh, Biden, they’re not going to buy Biden’s stuff. They’re not really – ” Any of you find that? Did that happen, any of it? A little bit. Just a little sliver of it? When I went to meet with NATO, “Oh, boy, they’re not going to be happy, they’re all going to be against Biden meeting with Putin, they’re not going to want that.” Did you hear a single, solitary syllable? And what would have happened if I had said, before I went into those negotiations, “You know, I think it’s going to be really hard, I think it’s going to be really difficult. I’m not so optimistic about it, I don’t see anybody really changing.” And the same way when I met with the EU, “He’s not going to like the way Biden is operating.”
FRANCO ORDONEZ [NPR]: But this is Vladimir Putin, I mean, can you be optimistic about his –
BIDEN: Sure it’s Vladimir Putin, but look, it was also – I don’t compare him to Putin, but it was the French president said he would never go for more money for NATO. Guess what? He’s agreed. I mean, look, guys, I’m going to drive you all crazy because I know you want me to always put a negative thrust on things, particularly in public, and negotiate in public. I don’t have to trust somebody. We didn’t have to trust somebody to get START 2.
(…)
BIDEN: I don’t see any benefit ever to begin a negotiation – and I mean, you’re the brightest people in the country, you’re the most important people in my detail. I’m not being solicitous, you are. But it makes no sense for me to negotiate with you, it makes no sense for me to tell you what I’m about to do, not because I want to hide anything from you. Why would I telegraph that?
(…)
“Waaaaa waaaa waaaa! You guys are being too hard on me!!! Come on man, give me a break!!!” Poor comrade joe, he can’t take the heat. And the questions do not even compare to what they used to throw at President Trump!!!
hey BIDEN, your bosses give you easy questions BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU’RE STUPID.
What flavor of ice cream did sleepy have in Geneva? What a joke, send this bastard hiking.
In Geneva, reporters don’t have to ask questions Nancy tells them to ask.
So Sloe Joe doesn’t have prepared answers that Nancy gave him. He doesn’t know the answers, so he questions the questions!
Biden hates tough questions. He is only interested is softball questions. Like how is your dog? What color are you going to paint your office? He evades questions that have any real meaning.
Biden whining about his lackeys in the lamestream media being too hard on him? 😂😂😂
Really??? Beijing Briben hasn’t gotten even a moderately hard question yet. His handlers prescreen all of his questions and he is only “allowed “ to call on reporters preselected by them. He is a very bad joke!
“Damn It just ask about covid and the ice cream”! “C’monn Mann”! so sloe Joe….
Biden is an idiot. Why is he not being impeached? Is stupidity not a good enough reason? There are plenty more but this one really stands out.
But look at his alternative who would giggle all the way to Amegedden.
Does anyone but me think the inept biden/ harris team (she is not constitutionally eligible) were placed in a stolen election for the purpose of crashing the, now low economic status of America, just so the democrat communists can finish the coup?
A divided Country cannot stand and we are past the point of return. Everything is falling into place, just like it was prophesied in the Bible. That is not being negative, it is just stating a fact. Check it out!
How can they ask a “positive” question about such a negative Fraudulent presidency?
Do not refer to this clown and fake as the President – he is an imposter illegally installed by fake votes in several key states
Joe Biden is soooo abused by the media. He should shut them down and institute a state run media that would ask him the kind of questions he wants to answer. He could even give them his answers and let them fashion the questions around the answers. What a morooon!
Unlike most who have commented on this thread, Imma give this Prezidunce the opportunity to answer a positive question: “In your opinion, Comrade Biden, what policies has your administration advanced to benefit the Nation which you swore an oath to serve and defend? You stated that ‘America is back on track.’ That is a direct quote. Sir, can you elaborate for the American people the course your administration has set that will advance American interests internationally and domestically? We’ll wait….
may i make a suggestion? he should only talk to carefully selected white reporters like the mayor of chicago does with carefully selected black reporters!
Look up the word ass hole in the dictionary and you see his picture
Just what we need, a brain dead idiot who incessantly whines to talk to Putin. Putin is probably laughing all the way back to Russia and the American people are screwed.
Wait! BIDEN has his questions screened, only picks on “approved” reporters, accepts questions about what type of Ice Cream, and he’s complaining? POTUS Trump almost never got a “Positive” question, was Impeached twice by vindictive Demokratz, and NEVER complained once, accept about “fake news” Jim Acosta!
Yes what are you “journalists” thinking?
Find the idiot that asked him about his ice cream flavor on the campaign trail and have him ask president farce about his bingo scores or which jello flavor he prefers