Biden’s news conference takes abrupt, lengthy turn

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — For about half of President Joe Biden’s news conference, it was a traditional, organized affair, with the president calling on reporters from a pre-arranged list. Then the president went rogue. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny broke in with a question about Americans’ worries about the competence of government, and Biden proceeded to call on other reporters on the spur of the moment. It turned into a more freewheeling affair, where he was asked about why he had taken the country in a liberal direction. He was even queried about his mental competence. Biden had been criticized for holding fewer meetings with reporters than his immediate predecessors.