During a press conference with Kenya’s leader, President Joe Biden was observed by Fox News’ John Roberts as reading “from a lengthy set of notes” while responding to questions. Roberts found this behavior a bit unusual.
Kenya’s President, William Ruto, recently embarked on a three-day state visit to the United States. During this visit, Kenya was declared a major non-NATO ally. In a joint address, President Ruto and President Biden fielded questions from the audience. It was evident that President Biden referred to some notes on his lectern while answering these questions.
During the wrap-up, Roberts turned to his co-host on “America Reports,” Sandra Smith, expressing his curiosity about a particular moment. He emphasized, “It caught my attention at the end there, Sandra. The president, in response to a question from a Kenyan reporter, initially asked for clarification by saying, ‘I’m sorry, what was your question?’ After the reporter restated her question, he proceeded to read from a comprehensive set of notes.”
SMITH: Mmhmm, on multiple occasions.ROBERTS: That sat with me a little weirdly.SMITH: On multiple occasions he asked for the question to be repeated, at one point telling a reporter asking a question on the ICC, ahead of a question to Ruto, quote, “You guys never keep the deal, but that’s OK.” Indicating that the question was known and that they strayed from the question. One reporter even tried to get in a second question, he said, “No, just one.”ROBERTS: Yeah, I’m wondering, was the deal like one question or was it straying from the intended question?SMITH: We don’t know.ROBERTS: Raises more questions about, how much do they know going into these news conferences?SMITH: Fair enough.
Notecards have been a common tool used by previous presidents, including former President Donald Trump.
According to Roberts, during his coverage of Clinton, Bush 43, and Trump, he never witnessed them using notes in a similar situation. He specifically mentioned being in Singapore with Trump during his first meeting with Kim Jong Un, where Trump answered every question for an hour without once glancing down at the lectern. Roberts described Trump’s responses as spontaneous and off the top of his head.
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