Biden's expletive-filled answer draws reactions from White House reporters and Twitter users, with some backing the president and others opposing him.
US President Joe Biden has been caught on a hot mic cursing a Fox News reporter at a White House event after the journalist shouted a question about the impact of rising inflation on this year's congressional elections.
As journalists were ushered out of a meeting of Biden's Competition Council, Peter Doocy, a White House correspondent with whom Biden regularly spars, asked if it was okay to ask about inflation and if it was a political liability.
"That's a great asset, more inflation," Biden responded sarcastically over a din of reporters shouting questions, apparently not realising his microphone was still on. "What a stupid son of a b****," he added.
Doocy laughed it off in a subsequent appearance on his network, joking, "Nobody has fact-checked him yet and said it's not true."
US consumer prices increased solidly in December, culminating in the largest annual rise in inflation in nearly four decades.
The White House and Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biden's expletive-filled answer drew reactions from White House reporters and Twitter users, with some backing the president and others opposing him.
HOT MIC: Biden calls Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a b*tch” after he gets a question on inflation pic.twitter.com/iMviX4628x
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 24, 2022
Doocy regularly gets called on by Biden
Biden took office a year ago pledging to take a hard line on any incivility among members of his administration.
"If you're ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot... no ifs, ands or buts," Biden told political appointees during a virtual swearing-in ceremony.
"Everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity," he said at the time.
I prefer a President who calls one reporter a “stupid son of a bitch” than a President who calls the entire American media the “enemy of the people.”
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) January 24, 2022
But that’s just me.
Biden's predecessor, Republican Donald Trump, famously attacked reporters at rallies and news conferences, to the delight of many of his supporters.
Doocy, who has long covered Biden, regularly gets called on by the president at events, often asking skeptical and critical questions. Conservative-leaning Fox News has been critical of Biden's presidency and Democrats.
At his news conference last week, Biden said to Doocy with sarcasm, "You always ask me the nicest questions."
"I have a whole binder full," the reporter answered.
"I know you do," Biden said. "None of them make a lot of sense to me. Fire away."
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