President Biden had a heads-up about the first question he would receive during a press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday, according to a close shot of crib notes in the president’s hand.
Photographs credited to Getty Images show Mr. Biden holding a paper with the name of Los Angeles Times journalist Courtney Subramanian, a guide to pronouncing her name and a small photo of her.
“How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?” the question said, though the rest is obscured.
Ms. Subramanian was called on first, though her question was more detailed and challenged Mr. Biden on whether he was hurting South Korea with his crackdown on Chinese semiconductors.
While it is common for leaders to have an idea of who they will call on at a press conference, or for aides to pepper reporters about potential queries, the level of detail had some journalists taken aback.
John Roberts, a Fox News anchor who spent a long time covering the White House, called the cheat sheet “really quite incredible.”
“I covered three presidents … Clinton, Bush and Trump.” Never once did I tell the White House what I was going to ask,” he tweeted.
The episode is likely to fuel criticism that Mr. Biden, who is 80 and the oldest serving president, is over-reliant on notes when facing the public.
In March 2022, he wielded a set of prepared answers after he caused an uproar by hinting at regime change by saying Russian President Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power.”
Other crib notes have given Mr. Biden detailed notes on what to do when entering a Cabinet meeting.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it is “entirely normal” for the White House to brief the president on topics that might come up during a press conference.
Ms. Jean-Pierre also said she has a good sense of what reporters want to know from conducting the daily press briefing.
“We do not have specific questions in advance, that’s not something we do,” she said. “I would point out, the question that was asked was different than what was on the card that you all saw.”
Ms. Jean-Pierre said a range of factors go into which reporters they call on, including whether an outlet hasn’t been called on for some time, or the audience the administration wants to reach. For instance, the Los Angeles area has a large Korean-American population.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.