AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Former President Barack Obama couldn’t help himself when he said hello to the White House press corps aboard Air Force One, as much as White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wanted to keep things off the record.
It was a very brief few seconds from the audio-only press gaggle on Air Force One on Thursday as Obama accompanied his former Vice President, President Joe Biden, on the flight to New York City for a massive fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall that will also feature former President Bill Clinton. In the 12-second clip shared on Twitter/X by the RNC Research account, Jean-Pierre is heard reminding reporters that they were “Off the record! Off the record!” before Obama appears to just say hello:
KJP: I want to make sure that we are all aware that this is off the record. Off the record, off the record, off the record!
Obama: How’s it going, everybody?
At that point, the audio cut out. You can listen to it here:
“Off the record! Off the record! Off the record!” Karine Jean-Pierre instructs the press as the audio stream begins aboard AF1.
OBAMA: “How’s it goin, everybody!?”
*audio feed cuts* pic.twitter.com/Rg4dABKPMR
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 28, 2024
In addition to the fundraiser with his fellow Democratic presidents, Biden’s contact with his former boss has increased in recent days, according to Katie Rogers of The New York Times. Both Biden and Obama reportedly expressed the same deep concerns over former President Donald Trump returning to the Oval Office, and Obama has been “making calls of his own to Jeffrey D. Zients, the White House chief of staff, and to top aides at the Biden campaign to strategize and relay advice.”
Rogers also spoke to an unnamed senior aide of Biden who said “that Mr. Obama has ‘always’ been worried about a Biden loss. And so, the aide added, he is prepared to ‘eke it out’ alongside his former vice president in an election that could come down to slim margins in a handful of states.”
