During a White House event on Friday, President Biden appeared to apologize to his own staff after being instructed to stop taking questions from reporters at the meeting.
Biden met with local officials and activists on Women’s Equality Day to discuss guaranteeing abortion access throughout the country in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade.
Though the most attention-grabbing moment of the entire sit down came when a confused Biden tried to take one too many questions from the press and awkwardly apologized to his staff for taking "control" of the situation.
After finishing one question, Biden pointed to another reporter, ready to field more inquires. Though as seen in video recorded at the meeting, an administration staff member interrupted Biden, trying to force an end to the questions.
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The offscreen staffer stated, "Thank you so much, Mr. President for –" Caught off guard, Biden abruptly interjected with an apology. "Oh I’m sorry, I …" he trailed off, stammering.
Leaning back with his arms up as if trying to defuse the situation, Biden added, "I took control. I shouldn’t do that." The staffer assured him it was "no problem," though Biden once again acknowledged, "I’m not allowed to do that."
He then seemed to cede authority to his handlers, prompting them by saying, "Go ahead, you tell me." Without skipping a beat, the unknown staffer took control of the situation, stating, "I think we’re gonna go ahead and have the rest of the conversation [barely audible] closed to press. Thank you all so much."
Biden sat there awkwardly as journalists exited the room, still shouting questions at the president as they left.
The strange scene had several conservatives on Twitter wondering whether Biden calls the shots or whether his handlers do.
"Who's really in control?" asked conservative pundit Ian Miles Cheong.
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Author and former NYPD police commissioner Bernard Kerik asked a similar question, tweeting, "WHO IS HE TAKING ORDERS FROM?"
Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., press secretary Abigail Marone declared, "The President of the United States isn’t allowed to decide when he takes questions from the press."
"Who's in charge?" asked The Daily Wire’s Twitter account.
