President Biden Criticizes Reporter at G-7 Summit, WHCA Defends Press Independence

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) has issued a statement defending the independence of the free press after President Biden was visibly frustrated with reporters for asking off-topic questions during a press conference at the G-7 Summit in Italy. Biden scolded Bloomberg's Josh Wingrove for inquiring about the Israel-Gaza conflict instead of the Ukraine-Russia war, which was the intended focus. The WHCA's statement emphasized that there are no preconditions for question topics at presidential press conferences and that a free press must function independently. This incident follows a trend of Biden expressing displeasure with questions that deviate from his preferred topics. The WHCA expressed a desire for more opportunities to ask a range of questions in future press conferences.