White House COVID coordinator Jeff Zients kicked reporters out of the room Monday before allowing President Joe Biden to take questions from state governors on a call to discuss the federal government&#8217;s strategy to handle the latest COVID surge.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WH Covid coordinator Jeff Zients boots press pool before we could hear Biden take questions from governors on Covid&#8230;
Biden: &#8220;I understand you guys may have some questions. Jeff?&#8221;
Zients: &#8220;Good.&#8221;
*Long pause*
Zients: &#8220;I think we&#8217;re going to clear the press first.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/uwZ6xEmS4H">pic.twitter.com/uwZ6xEmS4H</a>
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1475509759075885061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2021</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I want to thank the governors for their partnership, I mean that sincerely,&#8221; Biden said as he wrapped up the call. &#8220;And with that, I&#8217;m going to turn it back over to Jeff and I understand you guys may have some questions.&#8221;
Biden then turned and looked at Zients, who was off-camera, and prompted, &#8220;Jeff?&#8221;
&#8220;Good,&#8221; Zients replied, pausing for several seconds before adding, &#8220;I think we&#8217;re going to &#8230; clear the press first.&#8221;
Awash in complaints from members of the White House press corps about the administration&#8217;s <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-biden-does-not-take-questions-while-hundreds-of-americans-remain-in-afghanistan/">apparent reluctance</a> to allow President Biden to take direct questions, press secretary <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/psaki-on-biden-ignoring-reporters-questions-not-always-on-point-not-what-he-wants-to-talk-about/">Jen Psaki</a> has been forced to play defense on the subject — and has claimed numerous times that Biden does <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/jen-psaki-discusses-role-in-new-interview-says-team-tells-biden-not-to-take-questions/">take questions</a> all the time.
Just weeks into Biden&#8217;s presidency, Psaki faced questions about why he had not yet taken a formal press conference. She replied that Biden &#8220;takes questions several times a week&#8221; and planned to schedule a press conference soon.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Asked why Pres. Biden hasn&#8217;t given a press conference yet, White House press sec. Jen Psaki says he &#8220;takes questions several times a week,&#8221; and that a press conference will be scheduled &#8220;before the end of the month.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/8XnvAX6DPE">https://t.co/8XnvAX6DPE</a> <a href="https://t.co/uNqeGFTrq3">pic.twitter.com/uNqeGFTrq3</a>
— ABC News (@ABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1367901277598932994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
Psaki gave the same answer to CNN&#8217;s <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/brian-stelter-the-reason-americans-think-biden-is-failing-is-because-fox-news-told-them-so/">Brian Stelter</a> three months later when he asked why Biden hadn&#8217;t held more than one formal press conference. &#8220;He takes questions several times a week,&#8221; she said. She also claimed during that interview that Biden had taken questions from the press on 77 of his first 100 days in office.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
When asked by <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brianstelter</a> why President Biden hasn’t held more than one formal press conference, White House Press Sec. Jen Psaki says “he takes questions several times a week.” <a href="https://t.co/bttmLjiHOk">https://t.co/bttmLjiHOk</a> <a href="https://t.co/2ODlTR7WI8">pic.twitter.com/2ODlTR7WI8</a>
— Reliable Sources (@ReliableSources) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReliableSources/status/1401566463513837571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 6, 2021</a></blockquote>
In September, during a meeting with Britain&#8217;s Prime Minister <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/psaki-blames-prime-minister-boris-johnson-for-biden-refusing-to-take-questions-in-oval-office/">Boris Johnson</a>, Johnson took several questions from the press — but as soon as a question was directed at Biden, White House staffers cleared the room. The White House later claimed that Johnson had not been expected to take questions. The press pool filed a formal complaint, requesting a press conference with the president. Psaki responded by saying that Biden took questions &#8220;several times a week.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The WH pool filed a complaint as a result of this and asked Psaki for a formal press conference with Biden.
Psaki said that Biden takes questions several times a week. <a href="https://t.co/1XJ4089WIC">pic.twitter.com/1XJ4089WIC</a>
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheFirstonTV/status/1440459247238615049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
Psaki repeated the claim in a Zoom call with Politico, saying, &#8220;I think the important thing for people to understand, Anita, is that at a press conference you take ten, maybe fifteen questions. He probably takes, I mean, I&#8217;d have to look at it, but — 20-30 questions a week.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jen Psaki claims Biden takes &#8220;20-30 questions a week.&#8221;
Last week, Biden took seven. <a href="https://t.co/ZNAHV56OvA">pic.twitter.com/ZNAHV56OvA</a>
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1461186011132837891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2021</a></blockquote>
Psaki made the claim again just before Christmas, telling reporters that Biden took questions &#8220;multiple times a week.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jen Psaki claims President Biden takes questions from the press multiple times a week&#8230;
Ummm, in what universe?
Watch the full video:<a href="https://t.co/BFgTvRgrbw">https://t.co/BFgTvRgrbw</a> <a href="https://t.co/FH8WBZ89Fz">pic.twitter.com/FH8WBZ89Fz</a>
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) <a href="https://twitter.com/theblaze/status/1473383624829505537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2021</a></blockquote>

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‘We’re Going To Clear The Press First’: White House Official Boots Reporters Before Allowing Biden To Take Questions From Governors On COVID

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‘We’re Going To Clear The Press First’: White House Official Boots Reporters Before Allowing Biden To Take Questions From Governors On COVID