President Joe Biden held cheat cards showing Irish officials’ faces and their name pronunciations during their Friday visit to the White House.
Photographs showed Biden holding a card with a photograph of Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar that identified who he was and which country he represents, one photograph shows. The sheet further identified the meeting as an “Official Working Visit” and a “Bilateral Meeting with President Biden.”
Biden’s cheat card identifies Irish prime minister during his visit to the White House (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2024, ahead of the March 17, St. Patrick’s Day holiday.. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Varadkar traveled to the U.S. along with Irish government press secretary Nick Miller, his chief of staff Brian Murphy, his deputy chief of staff Philip O’Callaghan and Geraldine Byrne Nason, the Irish ambassador to the U.S., according to the New York Post.
The president and the Irish prime minister traveled to Capitol Hill for the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon, where they were met by House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal and Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly.
WASHINGTON, DC: U.S. President Joe Biden (C) is greeted by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) as the president arrives at the U.S. Capitol on March 15, 2023 in Washington, DC. Biden joined Varadkar and members of Congress for the traditional St. Patrick’s Day Friends of Ireland luncheon. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The president has used cheat sheets on several occasions when he has appeared before the public. He had a cheat sheet with the name of a reporter and her questions during an April 27 press conference. He reportedly also used a cheat sheet in February to help him answer questions during private fundraising events for donors. (RELATED: ‘Can You Wait Your Turn?’: Multiple Journalists Press KJP On LA Times Reporter’s Question Being Written On Cheat Sheet)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre argued having note cards of reporters’ questions is standard practice.
“It is entirely normal for a president to be briefed on reporters who will be asking questions at a press conference and issues that we expect they might ask about,” Jean-Pierre insisted during an April 27 press briefing.
He held another note card in June 2022 that included bullet points of instructions to enter the Roosevelt Room, greet participants and thank them.