Biden apologizes for being ‘short’ with reporter
SWITZERLAND (77WABC) – A wise guy, eh?
Before departing Switzerland, President Biden apologized for being “such a wise guy” during a testy exchange with a CNN reporter Wednesday afternoon.
“I owe my last questioner an apology,” Biden said to reporters on the tarmac in Geneva. “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy with the last answer I gave.”
“To be a good reporter you have to be negative at life,” Biden continued. “You are the brightest people in the country, but [it] makes no sense for me to negotiate with you.
“I apologize for having been short,” he added.
President Biden apologizes to the press for being a "wise guy" in his response to CNN's @kaitlancollins. pic.twitter.com/yLytJFgwN9
— The Recount (@therecount) June 16, 2021
Following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin CNN reporter, Kaitlan Collins, asked the President why he was confident that Putin would change his behavior after the summit.
“I’m not confident he’ll change his behavior. What in the hell?” Biden said as he turned around to address Collins directly. “When did I say I was confident?”
He then walked back to Collins, clearly annoyed.
“What I said was — let’s get this straight — what I said was what will change the behavior is the rest of the world to them and diminishes their standing in the world,” Biden said. “I’m not confident of anything. I’m just stating the fact.”
Collins continued to press the President on Putin. During his own press conference, the Russian president denied any involvement in cyberattacks, downplayed human rights abuses, and refused to say the name of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Watch the heated exchange below.
President Biden to @kaitlancollins: "I said — what I said was — let’s get it straight. I said: What will change their behavior is if the rest of world reacts to them and it diminishes their standing in the world. I’m not confident of anything; I’m just stating a fact." pic.twitter.com/eOUFLIdIgY
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 17, 2021
