Daily Caller White House correspondent Shelby Talcott said President Joe Biden makes “off-handed remarks” when reporters ask him difficult questions during a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “Reliable Sources.”
Stelter asked for Talcott’s reaction to the president calling Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy “a stupid son of a b*tch” when asked about inflation at a Jan. 24 press briefing. Talcott replied that the president has made “off-handed remarks” at reporters when hit with questions he does not want answered.
“The big thing is how Peter Doocy reacted,” Talcott said. “He reacted like a professional. He did really well. He did exactly what he was supposed to do and he was asking a question about inflation and that’s perhaps a question that President Biden didn’t want to answer in that moment, and we saw that snappy response. We’ve seen it before, and sort of off-handed remarks from the president, typically when reporters ask good, tough questions.”
“The relationship between a president and the press is a contentious, sort of working relationship, and it’s to be expected almost when you’re a journalist covering any White House, that sometimes there’s going to be questions the president doesn’t want answered. It comes with the job.”
Stelter said that while someone he has covered has likely called him a “son-of-a-b*tch,” the president was caught saying it on hot mic which led it to become “a big story.” (RELATED: ‘So Much Chaos’: Daily Caller’s Shelby Talcott Tells Martha MacCallum What It Was Like On The Ground Of Kenosha During Shooting)
Stelter then took aim at the media’s divided reporting on former President Donald Trump’s “Save America” rally in Conroe, Texas Saturday where the former president both urged his supporters to form mass protests if prosecutors investigating him “do anything illegal” and hinted at his intent to pardon Jan. 6 rioters if re-elected as president.
“That’s huge news here on CNN. It’s not huge news on Fox. What do you make of that divide and is it just a matter that Trump fans don’t care about what he’s saying at the rally about pardons or about protests?” Stelter asked Talcott.
“I think a lot of what we’ve heard President Trump say, we’ve heard before … peaceful protests are a huge pillar of American society,” Talcott replied. “So, it’s newsworthy, but also peaceful protesting is allowed. You may not like what the protesters are protesting, you may not agree with it and that’s okay. But calling for peaceful protests, of course, is a huge part of America.”
“I think the divide comes from liberal-leaning outlets, [they] tend to take what Trump says and make it into this huge deal, and I think a lot of Trump supporters are more neutral than liberal-leaning outlets believe. Why do people support Trump? That differs, and I think that’s something the media is missing a little bit.”