NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell Debunks Speculation Biden Gets White House Reporters’ Questions in Advance

While President Joe Biden has faced speculation, particularly from conservatives, that reporters give him their questions in advance, the White House Correspondents’ Association’s president Kelly O’Donnell took to social media Saturday to help debunk the notion following Biden’s Thursday press conference, his first solo press conference of the year. She noted that Biden’s staff use what they know about reporters and their coverage areas to try to predict what may be asked, but this does not mean reporters provide questions ahead of time.

“Received many comments and questions on press conferences. Important to note that WH staff prepare for press conferences by creating lists of questions they expect could be asked for the president,” O’Donnell explained. “They look at questions asked in briefings and of staff, stories reporters are doing, and known areas of interest. It is their job to anticipate questions reporters would ask. Staff interact with reporters every day and are very familiar with reporter subject areas. That is their job. Standard. It’s their task to prepare for likely questions.”

Conservatives in particular have previously shared a viral photo from a previous press conference with Biden holding a card that included a photo of the reporter, with a question listed below. But rather than the question being provided in advance, what was written appeared to be what the White House staff believed might be asked.

O’Donnell elaborated, “I am saying that staff game out anticipated questions that they think specific reporters may use because they talk to those reporters daily, know their work and previous questions posed to the WH team. Any of us around the WH every day can anticipate what many reporters would likely ask based on their specific reporting assignments and current news issues.”

“A photo card with an anticipated question is prepared for the president to review,” O’Donnell noted, specifically replying to concern over a viral image of one of those photo cards that included a potential question for the president. “Overlooked is that question was not actually asked as written because it was staff written.”

Biden’s Thursday press conference of the year on Thursday to mixed reactions. At the end of his introduction, he commented, “I’ve been given a list of people to call on here.”

O’Donnell explained that the president “has a list of media who are credentialed in advance” and his staff are aware of who will be in the room before a press conference begins. As the president noted Thursday, he had a list of reporters to call on — which was prepared by his staff, including a variety of different media outlets representing different platforms. His staff also preps Biden with questions they believe reporters may ask, based on their knowledge of those journalists.

This was a followup to O’Donnell looking to debunk the idea that White House reporters would provide questions in advance on Thursday. She labeled the idea a “false charge.”

However, speculation about Biden getting the questions in advance wasn’t helped by recent interviews targeting the Black community, where it was revealed that the hosts were sent questions by the campaign in advance and agreed to ask those questions.

Biden appeared much stronger at the press conference than at his June debate against Donald Trump. He also reiterated that he has no plans to drop out of the presidential race.