White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan hit back at the basis of a reporter’s question, characterizing it as a “‘When did you stop beating your spouse’ question.”
At a White House press conference, the journalist asked about a report that President Joe Biden was privately acting belligerently due to poor polling and voters’ disagreements with his handling of the war in Gaza.
“There’s a report that when President Biden was told his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas was starting to affect his poll numbers, the quote is, ‘he began to shout and swear,'” the reporter began. “So when he does that, is he shouting and swearing about Netanyahu, or about Hamas, or about his poll numbers?”
Sullivan hit back at the premise of the question, alluding to it being a leading one, and said he never saw Biden do as the report suggested.
“This is the ‘When did you stop beating your spouse’ question because I don’t think he ever did that,” he responded, to which the reporter replied, “Excuse me?”
Sullivan continued: “You use that as the premise of your question, which is when he does that, he … I’ve never seen him do that — shout or swear in response to that. So, from my perspective, that particular report is not correct.”
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The reporter was referencing a meeting in January, where Biden reportedly grew angry over news that his handling of the war in Gaza was hurting his poll numbers in Michigan and Georgia — two swing states central to the 2024 election, likely between him and former President Donald Trump.
Muslim and progressive Democrats have grown increasingly angry over Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas, accusing Israel of committing and Biden of supporting genocide. Anger over Biden’s handling has led to a movement threatening to withhold their votes from Biden altogether in November unless he changes course, which he has begun to do, putting pressure on Israel’s government to negotiate a ceasefire and save Palestinian lives.
