Biden talks election, economy and Middle East in surprise news briefing

WASHINGTON (AP) — After 1,080 days as president, Joe Biden on Friday decided to pop in and take questions in the White House briefing room for the first time, striding in with a grin after a strong monthly jobs report and the temporary settlement of a strike by ports workers.

The president has been less available than his recent predecessors to questions from White House press corps, making his surprise appearance welcome to the gathered reporters who waited as his press secretary’s daily briefing was moved up 15 minutes, then delayed for nearly one hour.

The president stepped through the press room’s blue door in a dark gray suit and red tie and proceeded to make news in response to questions about comments on the 2024 presidential election, the latest jobs numbers and the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

The 81-year old stepped aside from the Democratic nomination this summer, backing Vice President Kamala Harris instead. He acknowledged doubts about whether the November election would be peaceful, given comments by former President Donald Trump that the results could be rigged.

“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” Biden said. “The things that Trump has said, and the the things that he said last time when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous.”

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«More election coverage» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-parsely-title=«Related Stories» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> More election coverage <use xlink:href="#link-caret" xmlns:xlink=«http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink»> </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»>