US Elections 2024: Is Joe Biden afraid of questions?

When President Joe Biden announced that he would answer questions at an event in Saginaw, Michigan on Thursday but his aides promptly evacuated the press as social media users criticised that "incredible scene."

Biden travelled to Saginaw to promote his re-election campaign and address volunteers who are behind his effort to hold onto the White House, according to Fox News.

A visit to a 131-year-old Victorian mansion owned by Saginaw Public Schools Board of Education and Saginaw City Council members was part of the trip itinerary.

"Can I take a couple questions?" was audible from the mansion's veranda, where Biden was standing with his back to the reporters.

A woman wearing a Biden-Harris jacket said: "We're going to take a few questions," and soon after the staff immediately started putting their arms up and approaching the press huddle and loudly stating: "Thank you, press, back to the cars."

"The moment Biden suggests taking a few questions, his handlers come flying in like Secret Service agents taking a bullet, yelling at the press to get back in their cars," Bonchie, a writer for the conservative blog Red State, said. "What an incredible scene."

"This is bad. Really bad. They’ve told his staff not to let him open his mouth. Trump would’ve walked out and spoke spontaneously for an hour," another Red State contributor, Buzz Patterson, stated.