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At a July 3, 2024, White House press briefing, Newsmax reporter James Rosen joked, “If he’s awake,” after NBC correspondent Kelly O’Donnell invited President Joe Biden to speak directly to reporters. O’Donnell called the remark inappropriate first; White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre then echoed her. The exchange is reported by the Washington Examiner.
What happened at the July 3 briefing?
O’Donnell was asking whether Biden would remain in the presidential race and whether he could address the press directly. She said, “We would invite the president to come down and tell us directly.” Rosen interjected, “If he’s awake.” O’Donnell responded, “That’s inappropriate.” Jean-Pierre followed: “As you heard from your colleague, the president of the WHCA, that’s inappropriate.”
O’Donnell, then president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), made the first objection. Jean-Pierre reinforced it; she did not initiate the rebuke or speak alone.
What was the joke likely referring to?
The Washington Examiner’s account connected Rosen’s quip likely to a remark Biden had made at a Virginia fundraiser the preceding Tuesday: “I almost fell asleep onstage.” Biden reportedly attributed his debate performance to travel and jet lag. That provides likely context for the joke, but the report does not establish Rosen’s intent as fact.
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What can be verified about the exchange?
The quotations and sequence above are attributed to the Washington Examiner’s contemporaneous report. An accessible primary transcript or full video of the July 3 exchange was not available for independent verification, so the wording should be understood as that report’s account.
A July 9, 2024, briefing transcript records a separate exchange about a Biden joke and questions about his health. It is not the July 3 incident involving Rosen, and the two should not be conflated. The July 9 transcript is available from the American Presidency Project.
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