After Fox News journalist Peter Doocy submitted a question regarding US inflation, President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic criticizing him, and reportedly calling him a “stupid son of a b***h” The statement was made at the conclusion of a meeting of the White House Competition Council when officials offered an update on measures to battle inflation, which recently reached seven per cent.

The President was in the White House's East Room for a meeting of his Competition Council, which is tasked with modifying rules and enforcing laws to assist consumers in coping with high costs. Following Biden's speech, reporters in the room raised a number of questions. “Do you think inflation is a political liability in the midterms?” Doocy asked the President as other reporters were leaving the room. “No, it’s a great asset – more inflation. What a stupid son of a b***h,” Biden responded with sarcasm. The microphone was right in front of Biden, yet it appeared that he was talking to himself or as if he mistook the mic for being switched off. 

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The incident was also captured on camera in real-time. The video of Biden's statements went viral on social media, prompting uproar among many. Reporter Peter Doocy missed some of what Biden said during the event and only learned about it later. "Yeah nobody has fact-checked him yet and said it's not true," the reporter remarked later in a Fox interview, minimizing Biden's nasty statement. Doocy further said that the US President had contacted him to apologize within an hour of the event. Biden told the reporter, "It's nothing personal, pal."

During their phone conversation, Doocy informed Biden that he will always attempt to question something different from what everyone else is asking, to which Biden replied, "You got to." When Biden has made similar gaffes in the past, the White House has raced to provide an explanation or, at the very least, to retract his words. This time, though, it's different. The White House has kept Biden's initial statement in the transcript of the event, which means it will be part of the official historical record. Katie Rogers, the New York Times' White House correspondent, tweeted followed by a screenshot of the transcript, "Just adds a certain something."