Biden Apologizes for Response to CNN Reporter After Putin Meeting

President Joe Biden apologized after a curt encounter with a CNN reporter at a solo news conference Wednesday following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Biden why he felt so "confident" Putin would change his behavior. Biden replied, ""I'm not confident he'll change his behavior. What in the hell, what do you do all the time?...I said what will change their behavior is if the rest of the world reacts to them and diminishes their standing in the world." After Collins pressed Biden for an answer on why he said he considered the meeting "constructive," he replied, "If you don't understand that, you're in the wrong business," before finally walking away. Biden's response garnered wide backlash from reporters on social media. Later, Biden addressed reporters before boarding a plane and apologized for his exchange with Collins. “I apologise for having been short,” Biden said, adding, “You never ask positive questions...Look, to be a good reporter, you’ve gotta be negative. You’ve gotta have a negative view of life, it seems to me, the way you all ... you never ask a positive question.”

Some criticized Biden for "demeaning" behavior toward a female reporter. Some on the right used the incident to draw parallels between Biden's relationship with the media and Trump's relationship with the media; some right voices also highlighted the fact that Biden sometimes pre-selects journalists during press conferences and "flips out" when pressed by reporters. Others on the left said Biden shouldn't have lost his temper, but criticized Collins for allegedly putting words in Biden's mouth.