‘Oh My… What?’ Jen Psaki Says Joe Biden’s ‘Unplanned’ Marathon Press Conference Took ‘Cuckoo’ Turns

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that President Joe Biden’s marathon press conference a few weeks ago was “unplanned,” and described how it felt when the questions veered into “cuckoo” territory.

Ms. Psaki was a guest on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast recently, where she went into great depth about the Biden press shop with host and The West Wing alum Rob Lowe.

In one memorable segment, Lowe asked Psaki about that nearly two-hour press conference, which may seem like a long-ago event, but which was just 4 weeks ago.

Psaki revealed that Biden’s rogue extension of the presser was unplanned, and talked about how it felt when things got a little “cuckoo”:

MR. LOWE: So I have a question for you. And this was the week where the president did his two-hour press conference. and now how did… That was a long press conference. Let’s face it, it was a long…

MS. PSAKI: Record-breaking, in fact.

MR. LOWE: Record-breaking, and absolutely got into the thing where he was answering the same question five times. Where was that planned? Was it on the fly or was it like, you think this guy can’t talk in front of the country were put out of there for two hours? What was the thinking behind it?

MS. PSAKI: It was not planned. It was planned to be an hour.

MR. LOWE: Oh my God.

MS. PSAKI: Right. It’s going to be an hour. He had a list of questions just so he knew who to call on and off, and he goes beyond that. And, you know, I think in the moment, he just decided to take some more questions, and that went on for a record-breaking amount of time.

MR. LOWE: Were you pulling your hair out? I mean, there is a moment where like, Look, let’s face it, it’s not. It’s not a knock on anybody. You just go declare victory and get off the field.

MS. PSAKI: Yeah. I mean, I’m a pretty chill person. I think people who work with me would say. But I think when some of the questions started to be off and cuckoo for cocoa puffs land there, I was thinking, Oh my, what? Where are we going here with this? And that’s obviously not on the president. I mean, he’s trying on anyone in the room, right? Yeah. But then the truth is, after a few of those, it kind of came back to yes, some of it was repetitive, but there were also questions that hadn’t been asked, and they were about a range of topics. And he bantered around with lots of the reporters. And you know, it’s funny there’s been this is like a very Washington thing obsession with him doing a formal press conference, which is is what happened the other night. But he also has taken questions multiple times a day since he started the presidency from the reporters. So in a funny way, it was a it was kind of people seeing what he does nearly every day, but in a less formal setting. But yes, there was a moment there where I was thinking, where is this going and where? What, who else is going to be called on in this room?

MR. LOWE: I watched it from the beginning at work. I’m shooting the show. My show nine one one Lone Star. Yeah, I’m watching. I’m watching it in my trailer, and then I go. I literally went and put out five fires and saved three people and came back and the president was still talking.

A source with knowledge of the planning told Mediaite that the president’s extension of that presser was completely unplanned, and that there had been no discussion beforehand that he might go long.

Watch above via Literally! With Rob Lowe.