White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was pressed on whether President Joe Biden would hold a press conference after he met with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.
During a press briefing on Thursday, CBS Newsâ Steven Portnoy said, âThe president seemed to say this morning, I think I heard him say, he would take questions after he meets with the leaders today.â
He asked, âDo you know more of what we can expect in that regard?â
âWell, he just took questions a little bit ago. So weâll see what the end of today looks like, and if the president wants to take questions, thatâs certainly his right to take questions,â Psaki said.
Portnoy asked, âShould we expect a press conference tonight or tomorrow?â
âI would not expect, no. But you can ask questions in any format, right? I donât think you need a formal embroidered chair for it,â the press secretary responded.
Portnoy said, âWe would like a press conference.â
Psaki simply replied, âOk.â
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1461427775567503368
His question comes after CBS News reported that there would not be a press conference after Biden meets with the leaders of Canada and Mexico â which the network notes is the first meeting of the three leaders since 2016.
Psaki argued on Thursday that the lack of a press conference is not âscandalousâ and resulted from a âchange of schedule.â
Thursdayâs exchange was just the latest example of reporters expressing frustration with a lack of a formal setting to ask Biden questions.
Portnoy, who is the president of the White House Correspondentsâ Association, said that the press pool filed a formal complaint with Psaki after that incident.
However, Portnoy said in a statement about that incident, âPsaki was unaware that the incident had occurred, and suggested that she was not in position to offer an immediate solution⌠Psaki suggested the president takes questions several times a week.â
