President Biden sent the White House scrambling Friday after declaring he would give “a major press conference” in the afternoon, but he was referring to his interview with MSNBC.
White House officials were quick to alert reporters of the president’s mixup.
The confusion began after Mr. Biden met with members of his Investing in American Cabinet, which is tasked with implementing the president’s economic agenda.
As reporters began peppering Mr. Biden with questions, he shot them down, telling them he was doing a press conference later that day. Mr. Biden’s official schedule for Friday did not list a press conference, which is often planned days or weeks in advance.
“I’m doing a major press conference this afternoon, so I love you all, but I’d like to ask you to leave so we can get down to business,” Mr. Biden said.
Friday’s confusion is the latest in a series of blunders, misstatements and forgetfulness by Mr. Biden that have stoked concerns about his mental agility. Mr. Biden, who at 80 is the oldest president in U.S. history, is seeking a second term in 2024.
White House aides began pushing reporters out of the meeting and Mr. Biden tersely responded to reporters’ questions as if he would be talking to them later in the day.
“I’d be happy to talk to you about that, but not now,” he responded to a question as aides rushed journalists out of the room.
When another reporter asked him about the dangers of artificial intelligence, Mr. Biden responded, “We’ll get a chance to talk about all those things, I promise.”
News of the potential press conference confused members of the White House press corps, who dashed to figure out what was going on. The official White House pool report — a dispatch from a reporter following the president — led with the press conference announcement.
On CNN, stunned anchor John King said, “This is news to us.”
People familiar with the president’s schedule told The Washington Times that no press conference will occur and Mr. Biden was actually talking about his interview Friday night with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle.
White House aides have limited press access to Mr. Biden, public evidence that they are trying to avoid unscripted exchanges that have often been marked by mental miscues.
Mr. Biden has also averaged only 10 news conferences per year during his time in office, while President Trump averaged 19.5 and President Obama averaged 23. He has held the fewest press conferences since President Reagan.
The last time Mr. Biden held a full press conference, meaning multiple news outlets could ask him questions, was in February.
In recent days, he has suffered a rash of senior moments.
At a White House reception Monday to celebrate a Muslim holiday, Mr. Biden butchered the name of basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and referred to the Quran as the “quorum.”
“And the cheer for Musl— we cheer for Muslim athletes, like Kareem Al-J—Al-J— Abdul-Jabbar. I know him, and I did mispronounce his name.”
Earlier in the day, Mr. Biden became exasperated as he tried to pronounce the name of an award.
“We see it here again today with companies like AmePower … Florida’s business winner … award winner … Businessweek winner … You won!” Mr. Biden said.
Last week, the president fumbled softball questions from children during a Take Your Child to Work Day event at the White House. Mr. Biden couldn’t recall his last overseas trip despite having traveled to Ireland roughly 10 days earlier. He also couldn’t recall the name of his favorite movie, where his grandchildren live, or how many grandchildren he has.
“I left somebody out. I said five — six? I’ve got one in New York, two in Philadelphia, or is it three? Three? I don’t know. You confused me,” he said when attempting to identify where his grandchildren live.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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