WHCA Rebukes President Biden

The White House Correspondents’ Association issued a rare and surprising rebuke of President Biden on Thursday after he complained for the second time in as many weeks that reporters are not asking questions on topics he wants to talk about.

In a statement issued moments after Biden wrapped up his press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Italy, the correspondents’ association made it clear that “there are no preconditions regarding question topics.” 

“Any leader may prefer that reporters ask only one question or ask only about a topic that is of most interest to the president or another world leader, but a free press functions independently,” said the statement by WHCA President Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News.

“WHCA would welcome more opportunities to pose a range of questions to the president in a press conference setting,” the statement continued, bemoaning the lack of media interaction by Mr. Biden.

The WHCA is composed of multiple news outlets that cover the White House and the president, including The Washington TimesThe Washington Times.

During Thursday’s press conference, Biden complained that reporters never “play the rules,” because they ask questions about topics that diverge from what he wants to talk about. 

A reporter dared to ask Biden a question that wasn't prepared for him...

Biden snaps: "I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit." pic.twitter.com/PWwktQJ2SS

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 13, 2024

The first question at the press conference was asked by Colleen Long of the Associated Press. She asked Biden whether his son, Hunter Biden, was a political target. Hunter Biden was convicted by a federal jury in Delaware this week of three felony charges related to illegally purchasing a gun in 2018 and lying about his crack cocaine addiction. 

Biden declined to answer the question, beyond saying he wouldn’t pardon Hunter Biden and that he was proud that his son had overcome his addiction.

Josh Wingrove, a Bloomberg reporter, asked the second question, on whether Hamas was working in good faith toward a peace deal with Israel.

“I wish you guys would play by the rules a little bit,” Biden said, raising his voice. “I’m here to talk about a critical situation in Ukraine and you ask me about another subject. I’ll be happy to answer it in detail later.”