Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy said Friday that President Joe Biden never followed through on his pledge to take the reporter out for lunch after calling him a “stupid son of a bitch.” A hot mic captured Biden uttering the insult in January 2022, shortly after Doocy asked about the potential “political liability” inflation could have for Democrats during a press conference.
Doocy, who has covered Biden since the start of his 2020 campaign, recalled that the president phoned him to address the remark and promised to take him out for lunch—an invitation that never came to fruition. “I feel like I can say this now because it never happened,” Doocy told the “Fox & Friends” co-hosts. “He called me and initially he told me ‘it’s nothing personal, pal’ that he said a bad word. And he also said, and this was at the tail-end of COVID, he said he would have me in for lunch when it was safe. Well, I think his lunch card is probably filled, it never happened. So, it was never safe to have lunch with me.”
Fox News host Steve Doocy added that his son asked former White House press secretary Jen Psaki about the promised lunch on her final day, shortly after they took a photo together. “The lunch never happened. I’ve told many people about the lunch, the lunch never happened. I did not pack a lunch today, Fridays I’m usually out of leftovers, so we’re out here,” the younger Doocy said.
After the incident, Doocy told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that Biden called him within the hour to “clear the air” and assure him that the remark was “nothing personal.” He noted that he did not receive an apology from the president, nor did he expect one, the Daily Caller reported. “He did clear the air and I appreciate it. We had a nice call … I told him that I appreciated him reaching out. Hey, Sean, the world is on the brink of, like, World War III. With all the stuff going on, I appreciate that the president took a couple minutes out this evening while he was still at the desk to give me a call and clear the air, but I don’t need anybody to apologize to me,” Doocy said.
The reporter mentioned that the White House now has empty picture frames and televisions switched off, suggesting that staff members are avoiding coverage of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. In a separate segment, he noted that Biden’s team repeatedly “minimized” him through “stagecraft,” such as loud music and large crowds, to limit the press’s ability to pose direct questions throughout his presidency.
Biden has a history of snapping at reporters and members of the public over tough questions. While campaigning in New Hampshire during the 2020 election season, he famously called one woman a “lying dog-faced pony soldier” after she asked about his weak performance in Iowa. In December 2019, he called another man a “damn liar” and challenged him to a push-up contest for questioning Hunter Biden’s business activities in Ukraine.
