WATCH: Biden Drops 80s Pop Reference As Reporters Pepper Him About Visiting Train Disaster Site
President Joe Biden made a lighthearted reference to a 1985 Aretha Franklin hit as reporters peppered him with more questions about visiting the site of a Feb. 3 rail disaster.
President Biden has faced a growing chorus of media criticism over the fact that he hasn’t made a trip to East Palestine (although as Fox News has pointed out, Trump did not visit any of the train disaster sites that occurred during his presidency).
As he prepared to board Marine One Friday afternoon at the White House, the president fielded a raft of questions from reporters. When asked about the rail disaster, Biden made a lighthearted aside about the Zoom videoconferencing app before launching into another defense of his administration’s response:
THE PRESIDENT: Zoom! Zoom. All I can hear every time I think of Zoom is that song of my generation, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?” pic.twitter.com/t3T11LIwZs
— Tommy moderna-vaX-Topher (@tommyxtopher) February 25, 2023
Q Will you go to East Palestine, Ohio? Are you planning to travel to East Palestine, Ohio?
THE PRESIDENT: This time, I’m not. I was — I did a whole video — I mean — you know, the — what the hell — on —
Q Zoom?
THE PRESIDENT: Zoom! Zoom. All I can hear every time I think of Zoom is that song of my generation, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Q Sir —
Q Have you —
THE PRESIDENT: Guys, wait, wait, wait. Let me answer the question.
The answer is that I — I had a long meeting with my team as to what they’re doing. You know, we were there two hours after the train went down. Two hours. I’ve spoken with every single major figure in both the Uni- — in both Pennsylvania and in O- — and in Ohio.
And so, the idea that we’re not engaged is just simply not — not there. And, initially, there was not a request for me to go out, even before I was heading over to Kyiv.
So, I’m keeping very close tabs on it. We’re doing all we can.
The president also pushed back on the criticism in an ABC News interview Friday.
