When Biden's Team Faced Heat Over India Remark

This is what US journalists asked Biden's team after he "praised" the Indian media in front of Modi...

Transcript

00:00The Indian press is much better behaved than the American press.

00:04With your permission, we should not answer questions because we won't ask any questions on point.

00:10But the police are a family boss.

00:24Can you explain why the American president was criticizing you as reporters in that setting?

00:30I didn't want to answer that in front of other people.

00:34I wanted to explain why we're a family.

00:36We're a family.

00:38I mean, I don't plan to.

00:40So please.

00:42Can you explain why you're a family?

00:44Because I'm a family member.

00:46My family members are my friends.

00:48They're closest to me.

00:50I like them.

00:52I love them.

00:54I want them.

00:56I'm a family member.

01:28Unprecedented! Unprecedented event! Prime Minister of India is holding a press conference

01:39As he sat down with Prime Minister Modi last week, the President said that the Indian press

02:04is better behaved than the U.S. press, and then he advised him not to take questions.

02:09Can you explain why the American President was criticizing U.S. reporters in that setting?

02:12Well, I would note first that he took questions on Friday, and he took questions again today,

02:17and I think what he said is that they're not always on point. Now, I know that isn't something

02:22that anyone wants to hear in here, but what I think he was conveying is, you know, today he

02:27might want to talk about COVID vaccines. Some of the questions are about that. He might want to

02:31talk about, and some of the questions are not always about the topic he's talking about in that

02:35day. I don't think it was meant to be a hard cut at the members of the media, people he's taken

02:40questions from today and on Friday as well. The President said that the Indian press was

02:45better behaved than the U.S. press, but the Indian press is ranked 142nd in the world

02:50according to Reporters Without Borders for press freedoms. How does he say that about the U.S.

02:56press compared to the Indian press? Well, I would just say to you that having now worked

03:01for the President, serving in this role for nine months, having seen that he's taken questions from

03:05the press more than 140 times, including today and Friday, that he certainly respects the role

03:12of the press, the role of the freedom of free press. We ensure that we have press with us,

03:17of course, when we travel, that we have press with us for sprays in foreign capitals, and we

03:23will continue to. And I think that should speak to his commitment to freedom of press around the world.