As a media event was wrapping up Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden was heard on his still-open microphone responding sarcastically to a question being yelled by Fox News reporter, Peter Doocy, who called out, 'Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?'
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden responded to a question about inflation on Monday by calling a Fox News reporter a vulgarity.
The president was in the East Room of the White House for a meeting of his Competition Council, which is focused on changing regulations and enforcing laws to help consumers deal with high prices. Reporters in the room shouted a number of questions after Biden's remarks.
Fox News' Peter Doocy asked Biden about inflation, which is at a nearly 40-year high and has hurt the president's public approval. Doocy's network has been relentlessly critical of Biden.
Doocy called out, "Do you think inflation is a political liability ahead of the midterms?"
Biden responded with sarcasm, "It's a great asset — more inflation." Then he shook his head and added, "What a stupid son of a bitch."
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President Joe Biden responds to reporter's questions during a meeting on efforts to lower prices for working families, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.
The president's comments were captured on video and by the microphone in front of him. Doocy laughed it off in a subsequent appearance on his network, joking, "Nobody has fact-checked him yet and said it's not true."
Keep scrolling for a look at Biden's first year, by the numbers
Doocy told Fox News' Sean Hannity that Biden called him later to the clear the air. Doocy said Biden told him, "It's nothing personal, pal."
The White House did not immediately responded to a request for comment.
The White House has insisted repeatedly that it is focused on curbing inflation, with Biden reorienting his entire economic agenda around the issue. But the president has also shown a willingness to challenge a media that he deems to be too critical, especially Fox News and Doocy.
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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BIDEN BY THE NUMBERS
By the numbers: Stats that tell story of Biden's first year
63.5% vaccination rate
63.5% vaccination rate. Most Americans got jabbed. Countries with higher vaccination rates: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
3.9% jobless rate
3.9% jobless rate. The low unemployment rate is a big highlight of Biden's first year. He inherited a coronavirus-thrashed economy with unemployment at 6.4%. Employers added 6.4 million jobs last year as unemployment dropped well below the 4.6% that the Congressional Budget Office had anticipated in July for the end of 2021.
7% inflation
7% inflation. In running the economy hot, Biden got burned as inflation reached a nearly 40-year high. Higher prices led to disapproval of Biden's economic leadership. Gasoline and groceries cost more, and some notable economists said higher prices were a sign that Biden's relief package was too large.
$1 trillion
$1 trillion. The cost of Biden's bipartisan infrastructure law, which includes $550 billion in new spending. To get an agreement, Biden pulled back from the $2.3 trillion he initially proposed. He separately proposed $1.8 trillion for a package of social and climate initiatives, but that was modified and unable to clear the Senate. So Biden got about one-quarter of the $4 trillion in spending he proposed.
13 deaths
13 deaths. The number of U.S. troops who died in a suicide bombing at the gate of Kabul's airport during the U.S. evacuation of more than 124,000 people from Afghanistan. At least 169 Afghans were killed, with the evacuations leaving scores of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies behind. More than 2,460 U.S. service members died in Afghanistan over the course of the two-decade war.
1.78 million border crossings in the Southwest
1.78 million border crossings in the Southwest. Migrants began streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border once Biden became president. There were 1.78 million encounters with border agents during his first 10 full months, a four-fold increase compared with President Donald Trump's last 10 months in office.
20 natural disasters
20 natural disasters. There were 20 extreme weather and climate disasters that each caused damages in excess of $1 billion and killed a combined 688 people. These included a drought, two floods, 11 severe storms, four tropical cyclones, a wildfire and a winter storm. Adjusted for inflation, the U.S. has averaged 7.4 disasters annually since 1980 that caused $1 billion or more in losses.
24 states
24 states. Biden visited nearly half of America's 50 states during his first year. Excluding stops at his homes in Delaware, top destinations were Pennsylvania (seven times) and Michigan (five times). Both were key states in his 2020 election victory. Jill Biden went to 35 states.
41 federal judges and 103 days
41 federal judges. Biden had 41 judges confirmed to the bench during his first year in office, more than any of his recent predecessors at the same time in their presidencies. Of those, 80% are women, and 53% are people of color, according to the White House.
103 days. It took an average of 103 days for Biden nominees requiring Senate confirmation to be confirmed. That’s longer than the average for nominees in the first years of the previous six administrations and nearly three times longer than during Ronald Reagan’s first year in office, according to an analysis by the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition.
9 news conferences
9 news conferences. There will be a 10th on Wednesday. Biden has been remarkably press shy. He held nine news conferences (six solo and three joint) and 22 media interviews during his first year. That’s fewer news conferences than any of his five immediate predecessors at the same point in their presidencies, and fewer media interviews than any of his recent predecessors.
32 “not a joke" references
32 “not a joke" references. It's one of Biden's favorite speech lines. Among the things he said were “not a joke”: Civil rights icons, labor unions that built the middle class, air pollution from Delaware chemical plants, climate change as a national security risk, California voters, Biden's disregard of polls on his economic agenda. Seriously.
