Early Monday evening, following remarks at the start of a White House Competition Council meeting, President Biden lashed out at Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy as “a stupid son of a bitch” and mocked inflation as “a great asset” to the economy.
It began when Biden finished his opening remarks and gave way to White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Brian Deese, who appeared to have hinted off-mic the press pool gathered would be leaving before the meeting could continue.
As usual with presidents at such events, Biden faced a smattering of shouted questions from reporters and answered this question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “Mr. President, can you give us a brief update on your call with European leaders on what’s happening in Ukraine?”
Biden replied that “[t]he only reason I don’t like doing is this is you never report on why I’ve called a meeting and this is really important,” seeming to express annoyance with a lack of reporting about events such as the Competition Council meeting as they don’t always pertain to a lead story.
After answering the Collins’s question and saying it was “a very, very, very good meeting” with “total unanimity with all the European leaders,” other reporters tried to shout out their own questions while administration officials called for them to leave.
CBS’s Ed O’Keefe and The Wall Street Journal’s Catherine Lucey could be heard trying to ask about Ukraine, but Doocy stuck to the economy since that was the reason they were in the room to begin with: “Will you take questions on inflation then? Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?”
Biden barely hesitated in shooting back as White House aides kept shouting for reporters to leave: “That’s a great asset. More inflation? What a stupid son of a bitch.”
Moments later, FNC’s The Five co-host and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Jen Psaki should “call him and say you’re sorry or you have the President call him” and, though unlikely, offer him “an interview in the Oval Office tomorrow.”
Doocy joined the show moments later to give his first-person account (click “expand”):
HAROLD FORD JR.: I think we have young Mr. Doocy with us right now. You heard Dana’s comments and everyone’s comments, Peter. Have you been called by the White House or the President and asked to come to the oval office tomorrow for an interview?
DOOCY: No, no. And I don't think that's coming, either. But what’s crazy about this is — in the longer version of the clip, there was a group of reporters that were all gathered. We listened to him explain the Competition Council, which is the reason that he's having this meeting with most of the cabinet, and somebody shouted out a question about Russia. And the President said, I'm not going to take questions about anything off topic so I shouted out, something that's not on my two pages of questions about crime. Okay, what about inflation? Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms? And then he said that and I couldn't even hear him because people were shouting at us to get out but somebody came up in the briefing room a few minutes later and said, “did you hear what the President said?” And I said, “no, what?” He said, “he called you a stupid sob.” And I said, “did he say sob?” And that person said, “no.’
[PANEL LAUGHS]
JEANINE PIRRO: He did the elongated version.
Co-host Jesse Watters joked that Biden’s “right,” which Doocy quickly hit back: “Yeah, nobody’s fact-checked him yet and given him and said it’s not true.”
“No one’s giving him Pinocchio's for that one...You’re going to be known as the stupid SOB guy. I mean, before you were, like, the hair guy with the blonde hair. Now you’re — now you're the stupid SOB. Is this something you're embracing, Peter,” Watters quipped.
Before moving on, Doocy lobbed one more jab: “Do I have a choice?”
Taking it in stride, Doocy had more jokes (click “expand”)
DOOCY: Well, you know, the White House and the communications officials here when they had their first year in office anniversary that they were going to take a different approach with reporter and we thought that meant, after he did the two-hour press conference, oh, well, he's just going to be available for Q&A more often. But maybe it's more stuff like this.
PERINO: It might be.
PIRRO: It well, it's good that you can smile.
DOOCY: Well if I don't smile, I’m just going to be a ball of tears and I can't because I have to do a hit with Bret Baier in 10 minutes.
Earlier in the day, Doocy squared off against Psaki on crime, the economy, and masking in schools (and particularly in Virginia in light of the order from Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin). Click on the tweet to see the thread containing the entire, six-minute-and-17-second exchange:
DOOCY TIME: "Does the President think it's a big deal that, today, the Dow Jones is down at one point, more than 1100 points?
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 24, 2022
Psaki: "Well, to start with, we focus on the trends in the economy, not any one day and any single indicator, unlike his predecessor." pic.twitter.com/5NsSGZK234
At one point, Doocy pressed Psaki on whether parents should have a role in deciding what’s best for students. Here was how part of that went (click “expand”):
DOOCY: On schools in Virginia, seven districts representing 350,000 students are suing the state, they’re hoping to get a strict mask mandate that has rolled back by the new governor reinstated. Who does the President think knows best for students: School board members or parents?
PSAKI: Well, the President believes that public health officials have the best guidance on what we can all do to protect ourselves, including teachers, administrators, and students, so it's up to local school districts to determine how they are going to approach what implementation measures they are going to put in place. But here’s what we know from public health officials who are the experts on a pandemic: Studies show that masks reduce transmissions in school. They are a proven tool that keeps students and teachers safe from COVID and they can thus help keep schools open and safe. In short, we know it works and we need every leader to focus on the tactics to keep the schools safe and our schools open. I know you mentioned Virginia, but in Texas, the state is fighting a critical public health measure to protect our children and keep our schools safely open. For Head Start communities, ones that, a provision that is requiring masks to keep students and keep communities safe. They’re fighting against that. Why is that? I think that has — that has more to do with politics than it does with public health.
To see the relevant transcript from the White House vent on January 24, click “expand.”
White House Competition Council meeting [via C-SPAN]
January 24, 2022
8:06 markPRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: You’re going to make a difference in ordinary people’s lives. Ordinary people’s lives — you’re going to make a difference. So, anyway, Brian, the floor is yours.
BRIAN DEESE: [INAUDIBLE]
[REPORTERS SHOUTING]
KAITLAN COLLINS: Mr. President, can you give us a brief update on your call with European leaders on what’s happening in Ukraine?
BIDEN: The only reason I don’t like doing is this is you never report on why I’ve called a meeting and this is really important. I had a very, very, very good meeting. Total unanimity with all the European leaders. We’ll talk about it later. Thank you.
DEESE: Thank you.
[REPORTERS SHOUTING]
CATHERINE LUCEY: On Ukraine, sir —
ED O’KEEFE: Why are you sending 8,500 troops to Ukraine?
PRESS AIDE: Thank you, guys.
PRESS AIDE: Thank you, guys.
PETER DOOCY: Will you take questions on inflation then?
PRESS AIDE: Let’s go.
PRESS AIDE: Let’s move.
PRESS AIDE: Thank you.
PRESS AIDE: Thank you.
DOOCY: Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?
PRESS AIDE: Thank you. Let’s go. Thank you!
BIDEN: That’s a great asset.
PRESS AIDE: Thank you.
PRESS AIDE: Thank you.
BIDEN: More inflation? What a stupid son of a bitch.
