US President Joe Biden found himself in hot soup on Monday after he was caught on hot mic calling a journalist a ‘stupid son of a b****’ following the latter’s question on inflation. It has now been reported that Biden called the journalist soon after and apologised for the moment, saying it wasn’t “personal, pal.”
The incident occurred on Monday evening on the sidelines of a White House event. Fox News reporter Peter Doocy attempted to ask the US President if inflation was a political liability for him. Probably unware of the mic being on, Biden replied, “No, it’s a great asset – more inflation. What a stupid son of a b****.”
Doocy said that the US President reached out to him “within an hour” of the incident with the apology. “He called my cell phone and he just said ‘It’s nothing personal, pal’,” the Fox News reporter told talk show host Sean Hannity.
Elaborating further on the telephonic conversation he had with the US President, Doocy added that the two then “went back and forth” and talked about “moving forward.” “I made sure to tell him (Biden) that I’m always going to try to ask something different that what everybody else is asking,” the White House correspondent told Hannity.
Doocy said he told Biden that he appreciated the latter reaching out to him. The journalist further stated that he doesn’t need “anybody to apologise” to him. “He can call me whatever he wants as long as it gets him talking,” Doocy added.
An interesting takeaway from the entire episode is that the White House in its official transcript of the event has included Biden’s hot mic moment. This, however, isn’t the first time Biden has called out a reporter for his or her question. Last week, the US President reportedly slammed another Fox News reporter – a woman, after she asked why he is waiting on his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to make the “first move.” To that, Biden replied, “What a stupid question.”
Tensions have been rife between Russia and the US of late after Biden said last week that Putin would invade Ukraine. In an advisory on Sunday night, the US state department has even asked family members of its diplomats as well as its citizens to leave Ukraine, citing ‘increased threat of Russian military action.’