A Sleepy Joe Biden Hosts The Most Awkward Press Conference Of All Time
I hope you enjoyed your popcorn, folks. 78-year-old President Joe Biden temporarily left the basement, and it sure wasn’t pretty. On Thursday, Biden delivered the first Read More ![]()
Fox News' Peter Doocy snubbed in first Biden presser
President Joe Biden did not call on Fox News' Peter Doocy during the president's first press conference, an omission critics noticed given Doocy's proclivity for asking what the president says are "tough questions."
What are the details?
Shortly after the conference ended Thursday, Doocy went live on Fox News and displayed a "binder full of questions" he had prepared for the event. The White House correspondent said that he wanted to ask, in particular, about Biden's plan to "completely transform the economy to make it all green," and to ask about COVID-19.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy has a binder full of questions he didn’t get to ask President Biden today https://t.co/YG7DAigsrm— Daily Caller (@Daily Caller)1616698938.0
Doocy's name soon began trending on Twitter, with several conservatives criticizing Biden for refusing to take a question from Fox News.
Republican communications firebrand Matt Whitlock said of Biden's move, "PRETTY GLARING to walk up to the podium with an approved list of media to call on -- and leave off Fox News and Peter Doocy."
PRETTY GLARING to walk up to the podium with an approved list of media to call on -- and leave off Fox News and Peter Doocy.— Matt Whitlock (@Matt Whitlock)1616697000.0
However, The Hill noted, "Fox wasn't the only major news outlet to not get a question: The New York Times also was among those who did not get called on."
Doocy has made a name for himself as a thorn in the side of White House press secretary Jen Psaki, and the two regularly make headlines with their exchanges.
Earlier this year, Biden called on Doocy near the end of a presser and said of the Fox News correspondent, "I know he always asks me tough questions, and he always has an edge to them, but I like him anyway."
Doocy told People magazine that that comment from Biden gave him "a lot of hope."
"It is kind of a relief because it's not like he is saying, 'I am now president, I don't have time to answer your questions anymore,' Doocy told the outlet. "It was like, 'Okay. I know this might not be something I like, but what is it today?' That gives me a lot of hope."
Fox News' Dana Perino said after the Wednesday conference that it was a mistake for Biden to snub Doocy, arguing that it would then make the story about the reporter.
"If I had been there, I definitely would have told the president to call on Peter Doocy," Perino said.
"Peter Doocy is not Jim Acosta," she continued, referring to the CNN White House correspondent who sparred frequently with the Trump administration.
Perino said of Doocy, "He's got good questions, and the president showed he's willing to answer questions from all those other people." She went to say she believes Biden would have been able to answer the questions Doocy said he wanted to ask, before concluding: "Why make Doocy the story?"
“Peter Doocy is not Jim Acosta” https://t.co/vul1apZxze— Acyn (@Acyn)1616701933.0
Watch: 'Awkward' moment House GOP leaders take opposite stances on Trump at presser
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (Wyo.) are not on the same page when it comes to former President Donald Trump, as evidenced by them taking opposite stances at the end of a press conference several outlets have described as "awkward."
What are the details?
McCarthy did not hesitate when asked whether Trump should be speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference this weekend, replying definitively, "Yes he should."
When asked for her own response to the question, Cheney, the No. 3 GOP House leader replied, "That's up to CPAC."
"I've been clear on my views about President Trump," Cheney continued. "I don't believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country."
As Cheney replied, No. 2 GOP House leader Steve Scalise (La.), could be seen shaking his head.
A brief silence ensued, before McCarthy joked, "On that high note, thank you all very much," ending the presser.
Watch: GOP's McCarthy And Cheney Disagree At Press Conference Over Trump At CPAC | NBC News NOW www.youtube.com
McCarthy has remained a loyal defender of President Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which Democrats — and some Republicans, including Cheney — hold the former president responsible for inciting.
But McCarthy has also remained a loyal defender of Cheney, pushing back against fellow Republicans' calls for her to be removed from leadership after she voted to impeach Trump along with a handful of other GOP House members.
Cheney survived a vote threatening to boot her leadership following her vote, and has dismissed censure from her state party as well as calls for her to resign her seat entirely in the aftermath.
Cheney stays firm on Trump
Meanwhile, Cheney has held her ground on her position that Trump should have no part in the GOP moving forward.
On Tuesday, the Wyoming congresswoman took aim at Trump during an interview with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, saying:
"[It's] incumbent upon everybody who takes an oath of office and swears to protect and defend the Constitution that we recognize what happened on Jan. 6, that we commit ourselves that it must never happen again, that we recognize the damage that was done by the president, President Trump, saying that somehow the election was stolen, making those claims for months and summoning the mob and provoking them then in the attack on the Capitol. And also, and very importantly, in refusing, despite multiple requests from people to ask him to stop what was happening to ask him to stop the violence to protect the Capitol to protect the counting of electoral votes — he didn't do so."
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