‘What the hell?’: Biden apologizes to CNN reporter after angry exchange

President Biden apologized to a CNN reporter Wednesday after snapping that she was “in the wrong business” for questioning his optimistic view of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy,” Mr. Biden told reporters before he boarded Air Force One in Geneva to return to the U.S. He said he had apologized to CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

Ms. Collins had asked the president at a post-summit press conference why he is “confident” that Mr. Putin will change his behavior of destabilizing actions against the U.S.

“I’m not confident I’m going to change his behavior,” Mr. Biden said angrily. “What the hell? What do you do all the time? … If you don’t understand that, you’re in the wrong business.”

Later at the airport, the president expressed remorse to reporters. 

“I apologize for having been short,” Mr. Biden said. “To be a good reporter, you’ve got to have a negative view of life, it seems to me.”

He said of his assessment of the meeting with Mr. Putin, “There’s a value for being realistic and putting on an optimistic front, an optimistic face.”