Associated Press reporter Matt Lee called out State Department spokesman Ned Price in a heated exchange during a briefing Tuesday.
Lee presented several challenges to Price’s claim that President Joe Biden’s administration had never pulled out of international agreements enacted under the Trump administration. He asked Price to answer whether the administration’s withdraw from agreements regarding the Geneva Protocol with the Northern Triangle Countries, as well as Mexico, were contradictions to Price’s claim, according to Real Clear Politics.
“How about the Geneva protocol on the anti-abortion stuff?” Lee pressed. “How about the agreements with the Northern Triangle, with Mexico and the Northern Triangle?”
The Trump administration had signed an agreement with 34 other countries — known as the Geneva Consensus — that agreed to promote pro-life and pro-family policies, according to The Associated Press (AP). The Biden administration, however, pulled out of the agreement in January, The AP reported. The Biden administration also pulled out of an agreement in February with the Northern Triangle countries, which was meant to reduce the number of asylum seekers, as previously reported.
“Those are international agreements that you guys jettisoned,” Lee said in the briefing. Price seemed unsure of how to respond when Lee continued, saying, “I mean, you just challenged me to come up with an international agreement that the previous administration signed that you guys have walked away from, and I just gave you, I think, three.”
VIDEO: AP reporter calls out Biden State Dept spox Ned Price’s bogus spin: “You just challenged me to come up with an international agreement that the [Trump administration] signed that you guys have walked away from, and I just gave you, I think, 3.” https://t.co/JQAUmiDyuR pic.twitter.com/w3fywsTXD4
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 7, 2021
“The previous administration had its own policies. This administration has different policies across a number of fronts,” Price conceded, before addressing a previous portion of the discussion with Lee regarding the Taliban, rather than responding to Lee’s charge. (Related: Reporter Asks State Dept. Spokesman if Biden is Taking Credit For Trump-era Policy)
Ned Price is confronted for denying facts from the podium.
White House reporters take note. @StateDeptSpox https://t.co/gu0m8dCMWx
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) July 7, 2021
This is not the first heated exchange between the two. Lee had an equally combative exchange with Price after the Biden administration chose not to specifically sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman following a report regarding the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.