Fox News reported that President Joe Biden refused to acknowledge reporters following a White House meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar last Thursday.
That incident later led to an awkward moment for White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who had trouble defending the president's behavior.
Fox News noted that Biden and Varadkar each offered prepared statements about the war in Ukraine along with St. Patrick's Day.
However, the network pointed out that the president did not respond to questions shouted out by assembled journalists but instead "smiled" as they were ushered out.
WATCH: Joe Biden smiling as reporters hurled questions at him after meeting with Irish Prime Minister pic.twitter.com/f01q9YMEMf
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 17, 2023
According to Fox News, Biden's refusal to interact with the press broke an earlier promise that Jean-Pierre had made.
"You're going to have an opportunity, or your colleagues are going to have an opportunity, to ask questions during the pool spray at the Oval that happens every time a head of state visits," Fox News quoted her as saying
"So that is an opportunity to be able to pose a question to the president or the head of state that is visiting at the White House on that day," she added.
Members of the White House press pool then proceeded to grill Jean-Pierre on Biden's refusal to take questions, something which appeared to leave her feeling frustrated.
"I've spoken to this many times… I've brought it up many times and I gave an explanation that these are diplomatic conversations that happen with the countries that are visiting, and it is something that is decided in that way," she insisted.
Thursday was hardly the first time that the president has been seen dodging inquirers, as earlier this month he walked away from a question about holding China accountable for COVID-19.
BREAKING: President Biden @POTUS was going to speak but turned away upon hearing my question on #Covid origin and whether he’ll hold #China accountable. @NTDNews @ChinaInFocusNTD @capitolreport pic.twitter.com/jsbMTNPeYb
— Iris Tao (@IrisTaoTV) March 3, 2023
Meanwhile, Fox News reported in January that Biden "pretended not to hear" questions about classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center.
"Mr. President, do you have any comment on the classified documents," a reporter shouted at the president following a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
