A listless President Biden stumbled through a joint press conference Thursday with Kenyan President William Ruto, twice telling reporters he didn’t catch their questions and snapping at another journalist for asking a second question.
The two leaders held the press conference as part of a lavish State visit with Mr. Ruto that included a bilateral meeting with Mr. Biden and a state dinner later in the evening.
During the press conference Mr. Biden, at 81 the oldest president in history, either struggled to hear or quit paying attention while the selected reporters were talking, forcing two of the four journalists who asked questions to repeat themselves.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t catch all your question,” Mr. Biden told a reporter from Kenya, who asked about whether the U.S. would increase its funding for developing countries in Africa.
The exchange happened shortly after a U.S. reporter, April Ryan of Grio, asked both Mr. Ruto and Mr. Biden questions that she had to repeat.
“What was my question?” he asked Ms. Ryan, who asked about the security crisis in Haiti.
Mr. Biden also lost track of when it was his turn to call on a reporter. During joint press conferences with world heads of state and the U.S. president, each leader usually takes a turn choosing reporters to ask questions.
“Okay, next, I, uh — do I ask the next question?” Mr. Biden said, turning to Mr. Ruto for guidance.
The press conference began on an awkward note when a reporter told Mr. Biden he had two questions, one about Israel and another about Haiti.
“No. One,” Mr. Biden said sternly, which prompted laughter from reporters in the room.
When the reporter asked the second question, Mr. Biden reminded him that he was limited to one, but did answer the question.
“You guys never keep your deal,” the president grumbled before launching into his response.
At the end of Mr. Biden calling on two pre-selected reporters, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ended the press conference as other members of the press shouted their questions.
“This concludes the press conference. Thanks, everybody. Thank you everybody. This concludes the press conference. Thank you,” she said.
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