Reporter At Briefing Asks About Trump Arrest: Did Biden ‘Consume Any Of This As A News Consumer Himself?’

CBS News White House correspondent Ed O’Keefe got granular about ex-President Donald Trump’s arrest and arraignment when he asked if President Joe Biden watched any of the coverage “as a news consumer himself?”

At Wednesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spent a good deal of time side-stepping questions about Trump’s arrest and indictment this week, but there were a few that got more than a “no comment.”

Asked by ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce how the president learned of the charges against Trump, Jean-Pierre replied that “he was, of course, briefed by senior members of his staff, just like — as we all found out, you all learned through — through reports, the media reporting.”

Moments later, O’Keefe drilled down on that question to find out if the president watched or consumed any of the coverage “as a news consumer himself?”

Jean-Pierre used the question as an opportunity to deliver a message about President Biden’s focus:

Q And can I button up regarding yesterday and how the President went about all this? Are you telling us that he only learned about this through staffing, or did he consume any of this as a news consumer himself?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: I mean, I can tell you this. Here’s what I can tell you — is that the President was focused on working on behalf of the American people. He met with his senior advisors, his senior team yesterday, and — in the Oval Office. That’s — that’s what he was continuing to do throughout the day.

And — and that’s kind of how he’s moving forward. That’s what he’s going to pay attention to. And you saw that. You saw that in Minnesota this week, his focus on — on the CHIPS and Science Act, how we’re bringing manufacturing back to — to this country, creating more than 800,000 jobs.

That is something that the President is going to continue to focus: how do we build an economy that leaves no one behind.

So that’s what the President is doing. I’ve been very clear about that. That’s going to be his focus.

He’s not focused on — on this indictment. That’s not what our focus is on. That’s something that is an ongoing case. We will let others deal with that.

Our focus is what the President was elected to do — is make sure that we deliver for the American public.

Watch above via The White House.