- The president approached reporters as he departed the White House
- Several reporters yelled questions, with one about COVID origins
- Biden threw up his hands and looked ‘annoyed,’ then walked way
President Joe Biden got a head start on his weekend Friday after he approached reporters at the White House – only to blow off their questions about COVID and other matters and walk away.
Biden walked out of the White House Friday afternoon, preparing to put an end to a week that featured huddling with Democrats and news that he had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest.
He took a quick question about Paul Whelan, the American held in Russia, saying ‘we’re working on it,’ after Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed the U.S. had put a ‘serious proposal’ on the table for his release and raised it directly with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Then, Biden approached a group of reporters as if to speak. Several of them shouted questions, as is the custom – with one asking if he would hold China ‘accountable’ on the origins of COVID-19.
Then, he grimaced and shrugged. He turned and walked away toward Marine One – leaving the White House without speaking further.
The White House said this week there was still no ‘consensus’ in the administration on whether the virus was formed in the natural environment or escaped from a Chinese research lab in Wuhan.
Nor did Biden speak when asked a question about student loans while boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews.
He was accompanied on the trip by longtime advisor Steve Ricchetti and Terry Wolff, a Middle East specialist from the National Security Council.
According to a White House pool reporter, Biden ‘put both hands up in a shrug, seeming annoyed, and then turned and walked away toward Marine One.’
It was not clear if Biden was bothered by the cacophony of questions – a regular occurrence – or something about the nature of the COVID question.