As Fox News pointed out, this isn’t the first situation where the White House has cut Biden’s feed. The outlet noted, “Last month, the president’s audio feed was cut as he was about to respond to a reporter’s question on his administration’s military withdrawal deadline from Afghanistan.”
The White House also cut the feed of a virtual event in March after Biden said, “I’m happy to take questions if that’s what I’m supposed to do…”
It is not necessarily uncommon for a president to receive a list of people they are supposed to call on at a press briefing. Still, Biden has been criticized for favoring reporters that might be friendlier than others, and who his staff has possibly screened ahead of time.
Biden has also faced criticism for sometimes failing to take questions from reporters at all. This was specifically apparent and egregious when members of the press attempted to grill him during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden infamously turned his back on reporters several times, creating an image of a president who was unwilling to answer for the Americans and allies left behind in the country after the Taliban took control.