WASHINGTON — President Biden promised Wednesday that he would hold a press conference Sunday in Washington about negotiations to avert a federal default — when in fact he will do the Q&A on the other side of the world in Japan.
“We’re going to continue these discussions with congressional leaders in the coming days until we reach an agreement. And I’ll have more to say about that on Sunday, when I’m going to have a press conference on this issue,” Biden, 80, said in the White House Roosevelt Room before departing for Japan to take part in the G-7 Summit.
“As it stands now, the intention is to go to the G7 [in Japan], be back here on Sunday, hold a press conference,” the president added.
A White House official performed cleanup duty, telling The Post that “there will be a press conference in Japan at the G7 on Sunday.”
The location of a press conference can substantially alter the composition of press asking questions — as many smaller and medium-sized news outlets skip expensive foreign trips — and limit viewership due to time-zone differences.
Biden has on two other occasions this month sent the press corps aflutter by claiming he would field their questions before reneging — saying May 5 he would host a “major press conference” that day before actually filming an interview with a friendly MSNBC pundit and then suggesting Tuesday he’d appear on the White House driveway after budget talks before not doing so.
The press conference Biden said would happen in Washington would have been his first solo White House news conference since November and just his fourth since taking office. Press conferences at the White House generally are conveniently timed for domestic consumption and draw broad viewership due to their rarity and heightened political importance.
Biden will return from Japan as representatives for his administration and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) try to broker a deal to raise the debt limit in exchange for spending cuts. Republicans are seeking to reclaim unused COVID-19 funds and limits to future spending increases. A deal must be reached by early June, according to the Treasury Department.