Politics

LA Times Denies Submitting Question Seen On Biden’s Reporter Cheat Sheet

(Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

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Mary Lou Masters Contributor
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Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include additional comments from The Los Angeles Times.

The Los Angeles Times on Thursday denied it had submitted a question ahead of time to the White House after President Joe Biden was photographed with a written question on a cheat sheet from one of the Times’ reporters.

Los Angeles Times reporter Courtney Subramanian asked Biden a question at a press conference Wednesday that almost exactly mirrored the question on the cheat sheet, according to photos from the New York Post. The publication denied Subramanian gave the White House advance notice of her question in a response to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s inquiry.

“Our reporter did not submit any questions in advance of the Q&A with President Biden,” Hillary Manning, spokesperson for the Times, told the DCNF in a statement. “Courtney Subramanian covers the White House for the Los Angeles Times. As such, she is in regular contact with the White House press office seeking information for her reporting. You would have to ask the White House who prepared the document for the president and why they included that question.”

“How are YOU squaring YOUR domestic priorities — like reshoring semiconductors manufacturing — with alliance-based foreign policy?” the card read below Subramanian’s profile and “Question #1.”

The question asked by Subramanian, who Biden called on first, was eerily similar to the question that appeared on the cheat sheet. (RELATED: Biden Had Cheat Sheet Listing Journalist’s Name And Question During Press Conference)

“Your top economic priority has been to build up U.S. domestic manufacturing in competition with China, but your rules against expanding chip manufacturing in China is hurting South Korean companies that rely heavily on Beijing,” Subramanian asked. “Are you damaging a key ally in the competition with China to help your domestic politics ahead of the election?”

Following publication of this article, Manning sent additional clarifying remarks to the DCNF.

“To clarify, our reporter had indicated that semiconductors was one of several topics she was interested in covering, especially in light of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to the White House,” Manning said. “But we do not know who prepared the document for the president and why they included that question.”

Neither the White House nor Subramanian immediately responded to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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