Reporters Pepper Biden and 2 Biden Spoxes With Questions About Bombshell PGA/Saudi LIV Deal

Reporters peppered President Joe Biden and two of his chief spokespersons about the PGA Tour’s controversial agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which has financed the rival LIV golf tour.

The PGA and LIV Golf reached a stunning deal on Tuesday that has drawn intense criticism from many and praise from few — to include former President Donald Trump.

White House NSC spokesman John Kirby joined White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Tuesday’s press briefing, during which they each fielded questions about the deal.

Kirby was asked one-and-a-half times, as his initial abrupt response settled the question for the next reporter:

Q Yeah, thank you. (Clears throat.) Excuse me. Did your previous response to Ed’s question on the golf leagues mean that the White House has no position on today’s announced merger between PG- —

MR. KIRBY: I don’t have anything to say about that today.

Q So no position that? Or —

MR. KIRBY: I — I’m — I’m just — I have no comment on that today.

Q Okay.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Karen.

Q I was going to ask that.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Okay, great.

Q But also —

Q A follow?

MR. KIRBY: Saved me the breath. (Laughter.)

Later in the briefing, two more reporters took a crack at it with Jean-Pierre. The first got some human rights boilerplate thrown in:

Q Sorry, I obviously know that John didn’t have any comments on the golf merger, but I want to see if you had any comments on that. Is the White House concerned about the Saudis’ human rights record? Now you have a merger, you know, between an American PGA and the Saudi-backed LIV tour. What are the feelings on that?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: Look, I — I’m — certainly, I’m going to be in line with my NSC colleague and say the same: I’m not going to be commenting on that particular merger.

So, we don’t — just have — don’t have anything to share at this time.

But, you know, when it comes to human rights, as we have said over and over again, this is something that the President has been very clear about and has brought that up with leaders that he’s met with. And so that is never anything that we shy away from.

But on this particular merger, we’re just not going to comment from here.

The third attempt was less successful:

Q Understanding that you’re not going to get into a position on this golf merger, do you know if this merger would be subject to federal regulatory oversight from, like, the FTC or DOJ?

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: So I’m just not going to get into it from here. I’m just not.

Minutes later, President Biden answered some shouted questions at the end of a .cabinet meeting photo op, including one about the golf deal that drew a quip from the president:

Q Mr. President, what’s your message to Russia on the dam explosion in Ukraine?

THE PRESIDENT: We’re not leaving.

Q Sir, what’s your message to Russia?

THE PRESIDENT: We are not leaving. We’re going to help Ukraine.

Q Mr. President, why no statement on the anniversary of D-Day? It’s such an important day in America’s history and the history of our country.

THE PRESIDENT: That’s coming.

Q Do you have a comment on the PGA Tour merger with LIV? Do you support it?

THE PRESIDENT: I plan on being in the PGA.

Q Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Watch above via The White House.

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