An enterprising CNN journalist got a drive-by statement from President Joe Biden about the arrest and arraignment of ex-President Donald Trump on charges related to Jan. 6.
Trump is being arrested and arraigned in Washington, DC Thursday after being indictment by Special Counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury for his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election before and on January 6, 2021. Trump faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
All eyes are on the Washington, DC courtroom where Trump is set to appear, with breathless up-to-the-minute coverage by cable news.
But the indictment, arrest, and arraignment couldn’t have come at a worse time for White House reporters, as the president has been vacationing in Rehoboth Beach the entire time.
On Wednesday, reporters shouted questions about the indictment and the Fitch downgrade to the president as he sped by on his bike ride, getting nothing in return.
And on Thursday, White House reporters like Reuters’s Jeff Mason tried again — and got blown off during the bike ride.
“@POTUS @JoeBiden passes by at the end of his bike ride without answering shouted questions about Trump’s arraignment,” Mason wrote on Twitter, and posted video:
.@POTUS @JoeBiden passes by at the end of his bike ride without answering shouted questions about Trump’s arraignment. pic.twitter.com/nKRBFRQd44
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) August 3, 2023
Earlier in the bike ride, Biden had been asked if he’d be talking to reporters on his way back, and he replied “Probably not.”
But CNN photojournalist Jay McMichael succeeded where his colleagues all failed. As Biden and his entourage rode down the bike path, McMichael asked “Mr. President, will you be following the arraignment today, sir?”
The president responded with an emphatic and uninterrupting “No!” as he continued on his way without missing a beat.
Watch above via CNN and Jeff Mason.
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