President Joe Biden has been called out after he gave a stark response to a question on Afghanistan from a White Houe journalist. Mr Biden had been hosting a cybersecurity summit when he was pressed by a reporter on the ongoing evacuations of Americans for Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. The President appeared at first to want to duck the question before giving a sarcastic reply after the audio feed had been cut off.
At the end of the cybersecurity summit, President Biden brought the session to a close with some short remarks sparking a flurry of questions from the attending press.
NBC reporter Peter Alexander yelled out: “Mr President, if Americans are still in Afghanistan after the [August 31] deadline, what will you do?”
At that point, the audio of Mr Biden’s mic cuts out but the President can be seen with a smirk as he ignored the journalist.
Mr Alexander tried again asking: “Sir, what will you do if Americans are still there after the deadline?”
“You’ll be the first person I call,’ Biden is reported to have joked back.
The exchange sparked a flurry of criticism for US political commentators.
Former White House Press Secretary to Donald Trump, Sean spicer said: “If he is serious, that’s an issue.
“If he’s trying to be funny about something this serious and screwed up, that’s also an issue.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has defended the President’s response and argued that Biden had provided numerous updates and briefings to the press on the unfolding situation in Afghanistan
‘He has also highlighted the fact that we are closely watching closely following the threats from ISIS,’ added Psaki during her daily press briefing.
It comes as thousands of people including some US citizens wait anxiously at Kabul airport in a bid to escape the Taliban.
Emergency flights have been bringing Afghan refugees out of the country with the aid of US and NATO forces but the window for evacuation is closing.