Joe Biden speaks while meeting with the White House Competition Council in the East Room of the White House on Monday. Photo: Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
US President Joe Biden was caught calling Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a “stupid son of a bitch” on a hot mic after being questioned about rising inflation.The remark came as reporters shouted questions at the end of a White House event on Monday, where Biden was pressed on rising inflation, which has hit 7 percent, and the crisis in Ukraine.Doocy, Fox News’ White House correspondent, asked Biden “Do you think inflation is a political liability after the midterms?”Biden, standing directly in front of the microphone, was heard to say: “No, it’s a great asset. More inflation.” He added:, “What a stupid son of a bitch.”
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The comment has been included in an official White House transcription of the event. Doocy later said that Biden had contacted him personally within about an hour to clear the air."He called my cell phone and he said, 'It's nothing personal, pal,’” Doocy said in an appearance on Fox’s Hannity show. "And we went back and forth, and we were talking about just kind of moving forward, and I made sure to tell him that I'm always gonna try to ask something different than what everybody else is asking. And he said, ‘You got to.’ And that's a quote from the president, so I'll keep doing it." When asked if Biden had apologised, Doocy said: "He cleared the air and I appreciate it. "We had a nice call.”When pressed again by host Sean Hannity whether Biden had apologised, Doocy continued: “The world is on the brink of, like, World War III right now with all of this stuff going on. I appreciate that the president took a couple of minutes out this evening while he was still at his desk to give me a call and clear the air."I don't need anybody to apologise to me. He can call me whatever he wants as long as it gets him talking! I think that's enough. That's enough. So we can move on.”It’s not the first time Biden has been caught sharing tense words with journalists. Last year, he apologised to a CNN journalist for snapping and being “a wise guy” following a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin.