- The Washington Times - Wednesday, April 10, 2024

A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.

President Biden on Wednesday struggled through a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, fumbling to find his list of preselected reporters to call on and concluding the event by announcing he’s living in the wrong century.

Mr. Biden appeared confused about which reporters to call on during the press conference, struggling to find his list of preselected reporters that his staff decided should be allowed to ask questions.

“Who do I call on next? … Hang on a second. … I’ve got my list here. … I apologize,” Mr. Biden said as he struggled to read the list for several seconds before calling on Aurelia End of AFP.

The president also bungled a relatively easy question about his message to Arizona voters after the state Supreme Court ruled that its abortion ban from 1864 is still on the books and enforceable. By issuing the decision, the court effectively banned abortion care in Arizona.

“Elect me, I’m in the 20th century,” Mr. Biden, 81, said before correcting himself to the 21st century

Mr. Biden’s confusion about which century he inhabits was widely mocked on X by conservative critics.

“If this was your elderly parent or grandparent you would pull them off the stage, not allow them to run for reelection of the most powerful country on Earth,” wrote former Trump senior adviser Steve Cortes.

Conservative commentator Steve Guest shared a clip of the miscue, adding, “America needs to take the keys away from Joe Biden.”

The joint press conference with Mr. Kishida was the first formal press conference by Mr. Biden since December, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House.

Visits from world leaders generally include joint press conferences in which reporters from the U.S. and the visiting leader’s media outlets are permitted to ask questions.

Mr. Biden’s team has scaled back the world leader press conferences, and he has held fewer solo press conferences than his predecessors.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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