President Biden was cut off Sunday as he spoke at a Hanoi press conference in Vietnam and shuffled off the stage, award-show style, as jazz music played in the background.
Mr. Biden was discussing a chat he had with Chinese Premier Li Qiang when his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, interrupted him mid-sentence to end the press conference.
“We talked about stability, we talked about the Third World, excuse me, the Southern Hemisphere has access to change. It wasn’t confrontational at all. He came up to me, he said …,” said Mr. Biden before Ms. Jean-Pierre cut in and soft piano music began to play.
“Thank you, thank you,” Mr. Biden said and put down the mic.
He tried to field another question from reporters but then walked off the stage.
The bizarre clip circulated on the internet as Mr. Biden faces questions about his advanced age and is hammered by critics as “Sleepy Joe” over off-script comments that sometimes ramble.
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Prior to the Li question, Mr. Biden signaled he was ready to head out.
“I tell you what, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go to bed,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden was in Hanoi for a visit with Vietnamese leaders to discuss economic partnerships and trade. He had arrived from the G20 summit in India and will stop in Alaska on his way back to Washington Monday to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
A reporter from Fox News acknowledged that Mr. Biden was keeping up a busy schedule.
“He has been basically working all through the night, the equivalent of an all-nighter, Eastern time,” correspondent Peter Doocy said ahead of the press conference in Vietnam. “So, he’s probably pretty tired. Pretty jet-lagged.”
The White House seized on the comments.
Ms. Jean-Pierre posted a clip of Mr. Doocy’s live shot from Vietnam and wrote, “Thank you, Peter,” on her X-platform account.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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