White House: It's normal for Biden to be briefed on reporters before news conference
The White House said on Thursday that it was “entirely normal” for a president to be briefed about the journalists who would ask questions at news conferences, a day after President Joe Biden was seen holding a paper with what appeared to be a reporter’s question.
“It’s entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues we expect they might ask about,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing on Thursday.
The comments come after Biden was seen on Wednesday holding a note card titled "question 1" regarding a Los Angeles Times reporter’s information during a joint news conference with President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea.
Jean-Pierre said the information on the card was different from the question that was asked.
“We do not have specific questions in advance. That’s not something that we do,” she said.
Jean-Pierre also said the White House reaches out beforehand to a number of reporters who will be at a news conference and tries to pick those who haven’t been called on for a while.
The press secretary said the White House talks with Biden before a news conference about an array of topics that could potentially come up.
“We are mindful on who we pick and who we want to communicate out to,” Jean-Pierre said.